Charles Fossat, a French national, purchased through Henry Laurencel and others, lands that he hoped would give him control of the New Almaden quicksilver mine, third richest in the world. Fossat's lands were a part of the Larios claim, a Mexican land grant near the mine. Unfortunately, the boundaries of Larios' grant were not clearly established. Another claimant to the mine, the New Almaden Company (owned by Barron, Forbes Company, most of whose owners were British), had been operating the mine since 1847. Barron, Forbes Company held title to the Berreyesa grant which was also at the site and also had unclear boundaries. The United States Supreme Court heard the Fossat case three times. First, the Larios grant was confirmed. Next there was an appeal of the boundary question. Finally there was a decision on the location of the boundary line between the Berreyesa and Larios ranchos. The Court adopted a straight line as the boundary, placing the mine on the Larios property and all furnaces and other buildings involved with ore processing on the Berreyesa property. The New Almaden Company, having received advance warning of the Court's decision, had by this time already sold the Berreyesa grant for $1.75 million to the Fossat group (1864).
From the description of Charles Fossat complaint, 1853. (University of the Pacific). WorldCat record id: 35163802
