Pueblo Lands Collection, 1850-1991

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Scope and content:: This collection embodies the research done by local San Diego historian Clare Crane in 1991 for a book that was never written, tentatively titled The Shaping of San Diego: An Urban History. Ultimately, some of her research led to an article she wrote for the Journal of San Diego History titled The Pueblo Lands: San Diego’s Hispanic Heritage. The collection is organized as Dr. Crane left it. In 1834 Mexico recognized San Diego as a pueblo (a town), with the right to pueblo lands. When California became a state in 1850, it inherited the legal rights and the lands assigned under Spanish and Mexican law. As Clare Crane stated in her paper in the Journal of San Diego History, this collection “focuses on the complicated legal history of the acquisition of San Diego’s Pueblo Lands -- an extremely valuable legacy of some 48,000 acres.” The Pueblo Lands Collection was donated by Judy Swink in January 2017.

Collection Guide Author:: Finding aid created by San Diego Public Library staff.
Date Prepared:: 1850-1991
Date Encoded:: This finding aid was produced using Record Express for OAC5 on July 14, 2025, 2:54 p.m.

Access and use

Restrictions:: Collection is open for research.
Terms of access:: San Diego Public Library can only claim physical ownership of the collection. Users are responsible for satisfying any claims of the copyright holder. Permission to copy or publish any portion of San Diego Public Library's collection must be given by the San Diego Public Library.

Location of this collection:: San Diego Public Library

330 Park Blvd.

San Diego, CA 92101, US