Lupe Yñigo (1781-1864), an Ohlone Indian, who was appointed an alcalde at Mission Santa Clara, was given a land grant in 1844, and retained over 800 acres (3 km2) until his death in 1864.[5] Yñigo was one of the last of the Ohlones to be associated with Mission Santa Clara de Asis.[6]
Robert Walkinshaw was a native of Scotland, who came from Mexico in 1847 to take charge of the New Almaden Quicksilver Mine for Baron, Forbes and Company, a British trading firm.
With the cession of California to the United States following the Mexican-American War, the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by the Land Act of 1851, a claim for Rancho Posolmi was filed with the Public Land Commission in 1852,[7][8] and the grant was patented to Thomas Campbell, Robert Walkinshaw, and Lopez Yñigo in 1881.[9]
In July 1931, 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) were sold by eight of the landowners, then purchased by Bay Area communities and sold to the Navy for $1, to be used for an air base, later named Moffett Field.[2] They sold the land for $1 in order to make the deal more attractive to the Navy, this sale was orchestrated by local real estate agent Laura Thane Whipple.[2]
