Editing William Randolph Hearst (section)

=== California properties ===
[[George Hearst]] invested some of his fortune from the [[Comstock Lode]] in land. In 1865 he purchased about {{convert|30,000|acre}}, part of [[Rancho Piedra Blanca]] stretching from Simeon Bay and reached to Ragged Point. He paid the original grantee Jose de Jesus Pico USD$1 an acre, about twice the current market price.<ref name="lidral">{{cite web |last1=Lidral |first1=Terry |title=Historic Hearst Ranch A Step Back into the 1860s |url=https://westernlivingjournal.com/historic-hearst-ranch-a-step-into-life-in-the-1860s/ |access-date=March 16, 2022 |date=January 12, 2022}}</ref> Hearst continued to buy parcels whenever they became available, including [[Rancho San Simeon]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tippin |first=Brenda L. |date=July 2013 |title=History Lesson: The California Morgans of WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST |url=https://www.morganhorse.com/upload/photos/206TMH_July2013_HearstMorgans.pdf |access-date=January 20, 2025 |website=American Morgan Horse Association}}</ref>

In 1865, Hearst bought all of [[Rancho Santa Rosa (Estrada)|Rancho Santa Rosa]] totaling {{convert|13,184|acre}} except one section of {{convert|160|acre|km2|1}} that Estrada lived on. However, as was common with claims before the [[California Land Act of 1851|Public Land Commission]], Estrada's legal claim was costly and took many years to resolve. Estrada mortgaged the ranch to Domingo Pujol, a Spanish-born San Francisco lawyer, who represented him. Estrada was unable to pay the loan and Pujol foreclosed on it. Estrada did not have the title to the land.<ref>''George Hearst v. Domingo Pujol'', 1872, Reports of Cases Determined in the Supreme Court of the State of California, Vol. 44, pp. 230–236, Bancroft-Whitney Co., San Francisco</ref> Hearst sued, but ended up with only {{convert|1340|acre|km2|1}} of Estrada's holdings.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}

[[Rancho Milpitas (Pastor)|Rancho Milpitas]] was a {{convert|43281|acre|ha|adj=on}} land grant given in 1838 by California governor [[Juan Bautista Alvarado]] to Ygnacio Pastor.<ref name="auto1">Ogden Hoffman, 1862, ''Reports of Land Cases Determined in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California'', Numa Hubert, San Francisco</ref> The grant encompassed present-day [[Jolon, California|Jolon]] and land to the west.<ref>{{Cite GNIS| id = 245946|name = Rancho Milpitas}}</ref> When Pastor obtained title from the Public Land Commission in 1875, [[Faxon Atherton]] immediately purchased the land. By 1880, the James Brown Cattle Company owned and operated [[Rancho Milpitas (Pastor)|Rancho Milpitas]] and neighboring [[Rancho Los Ojitos]].

In 1923, [[Newhall Land and Farming Company|Newhall Land]] sold [[Rancho San Miguelito de Trinidad]] and [[Rancho El Piojo]] to William Randolph Hearst.<ref>{{Cite news| pages = 4| title = HEARST BUYS SITE OF MISSION: 17 Miles of Conduits Constructed in 1792 on Acquired Tract| work = Stockton Independent| date = January 12, 1923}}</ref> In 1925, Hearst's Piedmont Land and Cattle Company bought Rancho Milpitas and Rancho Los Ojitos (Little Springs) from the James Brown Cattle Company.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mchsmuseum.com/mcoverview.html|title=Monterey County Historical Society, Local History Pages—Overview of Post-Hispanic Monterey County History|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060522231029/http://www.mchsmuseum.com/mcoverview.html|archive-date=May 22, 2006}}</ref> Hearst gradually bought adjoining land until he owned about {{convert|250,000|acre}}.<ref name="lavender">{{cite web |last1=Lavender |first1=Natasha |title=The Crazy True Story Of William Randolph Hearst |url=https://www.grunge.com/313878/the-crazy-true-story-of-william-randolph-hearst/ |website=Grunge.com |access-date=March 16, 2022 |date=January 15, 2021}}</ref>