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 Don
Gaspar de Portolá led an expedition
in 1768 that established the first Presidio
(military fort) at San Diego and
"discovered" San Francisco Bay. He also
established the first Presidio at Monterey, in
1770. |
 California
Gold Rush On January
24, 1848, James Marshall was inspecting work on a
sawmill being built for John Sutter on the
American River near the present town of Coloma
when he saw gold flakes on the ground. By the
spring of 1849, the non-native population of
California had grown to almost 100,000 people,
the vast majority of whom were looking for gold. |
 Catalina
Island (also known as Santa Catalina Island)
lies about 22 miles south-southwest of Los
Angeles, in the Channel Islands archipelago. Los
Angeles County has governmental jurisdiction over
the island and is responsible for providing law
enforcement, fire, and other public services,
while the Catalina Island Conservancy maintains
the island's natural beauty. |
 Misión
San Francis de Asís was established
on June 27, 1776, by Father Francisco Palou and
José Joaquin Moraga. The town of Yerba Buena was
established nearby. As time went by the town took
the name Saint Francis, while the mission
popularly became known as Dolores. Now the oldest
building in San Francisco, the original church
structure has withstood three major earthquakes
with barely a crack in its thick walls. |
 John
McLoughlin played a leading part in
settling Oregon Territory. He was a partner in
the North West and Hudson's Bay companies, and
directed their business in the Oregon country
from 1824 to 1826. He developed trading posts and
friendly relations with the Native Americans of
the region, but had to resign for helping new
settlers at his company's expense. |
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