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Pedro Altube, the Basque Gold Seeker Who Founded Nevada's Spanish Ranch

Born in Oñati, Spain, Altube prospered in California and with his brother Bernardo founded the Spanish Ranch, earning the title Father of Basques in America.

Who Was Pedro Altube?

Pedro de Altube Idigoras was a Basque emigrant who became one of the first great ranchers of northeastern Nevada. According to Wikipedia, he was born on April 27, 1827, in Oñati, in Gipuzkoa, Spain, to Joaquín de Altube Balenzategi and Micaela Idigoras Eraña.

The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum inducted him into the Hall of Great Westerners in 1960, as the Father of Basques in America. The assignment record for this site gives slightly different years for his life, 1826 to 1904, so sources differ by about a year.

From the Basque Country to Argentina

Altube left Spain with his brother Bernardo and went first to Argentina. The sources reviewed give no dates for the crossing and do not say what work the brothers did there.

Altube's route ran from the Basque Country to South America to the California goldfields, and then to a ranch of his own in Nevada.

The California Gold Rush

In 1849 Altube joined the California Gold Rush. The Wikipedia article says he earned a small fortune in the mining camps and later made money from cattle and dairy operations.

That sequence, from placer camps to livestock, was common among miners who noticed that the camps needed beef and dairy products. The article does not give figures for his profits, his land holdings in California or the size of his herds, so none are stated here.

Building the Spanish Ranch in Elko County

The Altube brothers established the Spanish Ranch in Independence Valley, in Elko County, Nevada, near the mining town of Tuscarora. Wikipedia describes the ranch as extensive and prosperous, though it does not give acreage or cattle numbers.

Elko County was the home ground of other large cattle operators in the same decades. The governor-to-be Lewis R. Bradley ran cattle near Jiggs in the county, and John Sparks bought a ranch near Elko in 1881. Altube's Spanish Ranch belongs to that same first generation of Nevada cattle outfits.

Why Altube Is Called the Father of Basques in America

The title Father of Basques in America comes from the Hall of Great Westerners, not from a count of immigrants. The pages reviewed do not spell out what the museum counted in awarding it, so this profile reports the title and nothing more.

The museum's listing for Altube is the place to check the official wording of the honor.

The Key to Altube's Success

Altube's career followed a clear line from risk to capital to land. The record does not reveal private motives, so the lessons below stick to what he did.

The documented steps are these.

  • He emigrated young and worked first in Argentina before heading to California.
  • He joined the 1849 Gold Rush and turned mining earnings into cattle and dairy businesses.
  • He partnered with his brother Bernardo, sharing the work and risk of the Spanish Ranch.
  • He built the ranch in Independence Valley, Elko County, near the mining town of Tuscarora.
  • He kept ties to California to the end: he died in San Francisco and was buried in Colma.

Death and Legacy

Altube died suddenly of a stroke in San Francisco on August 8, 1905, at age 78. He was buried in the family vault at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma, California.

His name lives on through the Spanish Ranch and the Hall of Great Westerners honor. For related ranching stories, see the ranching pages of farm.FM, or read a farm.FM story about Basque ranching in Nevada. The Hall of Great Westerners overview lists other inductees.

Timeline

  1. 1827Born April 27 in Oñati, Gipuzkoa, Spain
  2. Early adulthoodEmigrates to Argentina with his brother Bernardo
  3. 1849Joins the California Gold Rush
  4. After the Gold RushBuilds income from cattle and dairy operations in California
  5. LaterFounds the Spanish Ranch with Bernardo in Independence Valley, Nevada
  6. 1905Dies August 8 in San Francisco
  7. 1960Inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners

Frequently asked questions

Who was Pedro Altube?

Pedro Altube (1827-1905) was a Basque rancher born in Oñati, Spain, who joined the California Gold Rush and founded the Spanish Ranch in Elko County, Nevada, with his brother Bernardo.

Why is Pedro Altube called the Father of Basques in America?

The Hall of Great Westerners gave him that title when it inducted him in 1960, recognizing his role as a pioneering Basque rancher in the American West.

Where was the Spanish Ranch?

The Spanish Ranch was in Independence Valley, Elko County, in northeastern Nevada, near the mining town of Tuscarora.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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