The Rancho Santa Maria de los Peñasquitos was the first Mexican land grant in present-day San Diego County. Ruiz built an adobe home on the rancho, which was north of the Presidio and Mission San Diego de Alcalá, and nearby the Kumeyaay settlement of Awil Nyawa. Ruiz built the first ranch house on the rancho in 1824, which was later expanded upon.
