Thirty Cents an Acre

Searching for better land, the Elam Brown Party headed originally for Oregon Country during the Mexican War, but diverted to the Mexican province of Alta California. At Johnson’s Ranch, Bill Johnson told them his 20,000 acres had been purchased for a hundred and fifty dollars!


The Party pressed on to Sutter’s Fort. They found John Sutter, who said his 49,000 acre ranch hadn’t cost anything at all because it had been granted by the Governor himself!


At Sutter’s, they met Joseph Chiles, who invited them to winter at his place: 8,000 acres. It had cost only five dollars, he said! And that was for the paperwork!


Elam determined that he might never again encounter the opportunity which now presented itself, in that a large ranch might be purchased at a very reasonable price, to be parceled out to all the members of his Party.


While most settled in at Chiles’ place for the winter, the Brown’s pushed on to Yerba Buena and a land-broker named William Leidesdorff.