Berkeley (Calif.) Planning Commission

City History

The City of Berkeley, California was incorporated on April 1, 1878 from two distinct settlements. Much of the area surrounding Berkeley was given the Peralta family as a land grant from the Spanish king in 1820. After the gold rush and California statehood in 1850, the large ranchero should have stayed in the Peralta hands. However, the large ranchero's unoccupied land quickly filled with Americans, using "squatter's rights" or a right to occupy empty land. Confusion over rights to the lands was finally settled in 1877, but by that time the land was already settled and the Peralta family sold their remaining land.

...