Beautiful 9 yr. old Chocolate Palomino

The original community of Soledad was established as a Spanish mission October 9, 1791 by Fermín Lasuén, and founded under the rule of the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( Virreinato de Nueva España) 1535 to 1821. The town of Soledad was founded by Catalina Munras, at the wishes of her dying husband Don Esteban Munras. Don Esteban had arrived in the area in 1820 and was granted Rancho San Vicente from Mexico after it gained its independence from Spain. Following her late husband's dream and advice, she selected “poor land, no good for tilling, a town to help all rancheros around. One lot for a school, one for a church, and one for a cemetario where God would give rest to his workers.” The decision to found the town had some judicious timing, since the Southern Pacific Railroad was stretching down the Salinas Valley by 1872.