The first sale of lands belonging to Rancho Nuestra Senora del Refugio to non-family members, the Gaviota Ranch, occurred in 1858. In 1866, Thomas B. Dibblee of Rancho San Julian, acquired several parcels originally included in the Rancho, and he eventually owned approximately three-quarters of the original grant. William Welles Hollister purchased the Hollister Ranch land in 1866. The Dibblee-Hollister partnership owned several land grants in the Santa Barbara area. With the sale of Arroyo Hondo in 1889, all rancho lands had been sold by the Ortegas.