The 15-square-mile Santa Ana land grant was awarded by Mexico to Benigno Leal in 1834. Leal established his Rancho de Adentro (inside ranch) headquarters and cemetery at this site. Leal's original grant was eventually combined with adjacent lands to form the "Alamo Tract" which between 1910 and 1930 was converted to farmland by the Louisiana and Rio Grande Canal Company. The tract's southern section nevertheless retained its natural riverine forest environment and was acquired by the U. S. government in 1943 to create the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge.
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