Editing Santa Barbara, California (section)

===Mexican era===
After the forced [[Mexican secularization act of 1833|secularization of the Missions in 1833]], successive [[Governor of Alta California#Mexican Governors of Alta California|Mexican Governors]] distributed the large land tracts formerly held by the Franciscan Order to various families in order to reward service or build alliances. These land grants to local notable families mark the beginning of the "Rancho Period" in California and Santa Barbara history. Fernando Tico was one of the first settlers who received land grants for the local area. Fernando led the Native Americans against the Argentinian pirates in the 1800s. The population remained sparse, with enormous cattle operations run by wealthy families. It was during this period that [[Richard Henry Dana Jr.]] first visited Santa Barbara and wrote about the [[culture]] and people of Santa Barbara in his book ''[[Two Years Before the Mast]]''.

[[File:Santa Barbara County Courthouse Mural room.jpg|right|thumb|Mural Room (formerly Board of Supervisors' Hearing Room) within the Santa Barbara County Courthouse. Wall murals depict the history of Santa Barbara. The room is used occasionally as a courtroom.]]
Santa Barbara fell bloodlessly to a battalion of [[United States Army|American soldiers]] under [[John C. Frémont]] on December 27, 1846, during the [[Mexican–American War]], and after the [[Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo]] in 1848 it became part of the expanding United States.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Walker|first=Dale|url=https://archive.org/details/bearflagrisingco00walk_0/page/234/mode/2up|title=Bear Flag Rising|publisher=Forge|year=1999|page=235|isbn=9780312866853|access-date=February 20, 2021|url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=May 2000|title=History of Santa Barbara – Timeline|url=https://www.santabarbaraca.gov/services/community/historic/historysb/timeline.asp|access-date=February 20, 2021|website=City of Santa Barbara|archive-date=February 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207015813/https://www.santabarbaraca.gov/services/community/historic/historysb/timeline.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref>