“The three Van Ness Ordinances of 1856 to 1858 resulted in the creation and mapping of the Western Addition neighborhood of San Francisco. These five manuscript maps were likely made to show the existing land claims in relation to the newly platted streets, parks, and other public spaces. They may have been used in the subsequent resolution of the various land claims. They show many interesting artifacts of the early settlement of the area before it was officially made a part of the city in the mid 1850's. The 1858 date of the five maps is estimated, based on the creation of the Van Ness map in the same year. Part of the Mission district is also covered..” davidrumsey.com
“As a San Francisco alderman, [James Van Ness] sponsored the "Van Ness Ordinance", which ordered all land within the City limits that was undeveloped at that time (that is, west of Larkin Street and southwest of Ninth Street) to be surveyed and transferred to their original deedholders. Because there were many fraudulent deed holders at that time, this law led to many lawsuits for many years.” wikipedia.org
