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53-457: It was given in 1839 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Jose Dolores Pacheco. The rancho included present day Pleasanton , Asco, and Dougherty . Rancho Santa Rita was granted in 1839 to Pueblo de San José alcalde Jose Dolores Pacheco. It extended east from present day Foothill Road, with the Rancho Las Positas adjacent in the eastern Livermore Valley, Rancho San Ramon on the north and

106-583: A California Historical Landmark . The former settlement of Alvarado (now part of Union City ) was named after him, as was Alvarado Street in San Francisco 's Noe Valley . Portions of the Rancho San Pablo adobe are incorporated into the current City of San Pablo government campus and Alvarado Park within Wildcat Canyon Regional Park is named in his honor. The Governor Alvarado House

159-701: A day. The expedition recorded an earthquake on July 28 at the Santa Ana River . On July 29 they reached the site of present-day Fullerton, California at Hillcrest Park . On July 30, the expedition crossed the Puente Hills at a pass in La Habra (North Harbor Boulevard). They moved north-west to the San Gabriel River (near El Monte ) where they built a bridge to cross over. This bridge ('La Puente' in Crespi's diary)

212-577: A house in Monterey for his mistress, Juliana Francisca Ramona y Castillo, whom he called "Raymunda", to live in. It's possible the home was for her sister, Maria Reymunda Castillo. Over the years, the pair had at least two illegitimate daughters whom he recognized (Estefana del Rosario (born 1834), and Maria Francisca de la Asencion (born 1836). They may have had several more that he did not recognize, but they never married. During this period Alvarado began drinking heavily. Alvarado supported secularization of

265-578: A joint expedition by land and sea to again search for the bay and establish a colony if they were successful. The San Antonio sailed on April 16, 1770. On board were Serra, Miguel Costansó, military engineer and cartographer, and Doctor Pedro Prat, army surgeon, along with a cargo of supplies for the new mission at Monterey. On April 17, after mustering what forces he could, Portolá's land expedition, which included lieutenant Pedro Fages , 12 Spanish volunteers, seven leather-jacket soldiers, five Baja California Indians, two muleteers , and Juan Crespí serving as

318-896: A report of a planned revolt against Alvarado by a group of foreigners, led by former ally Isaac Graham , caused the governor to order their arrest and deportation to Mexico City for trial. They were eventually, however, acquitted of all charges in June 1841. Also in 1841, political leaders in the United States were declaring their doctrine of Manifest Destiny , and Californios grew increasingly concerned over their intentions. Vallejo conferred with Castro and Alvarado recommending that Mexico send military reinforcements to enforce their military control of California. In response, Mexican president Antonio López de Santa Anna sent Brigadier General Manuel Micheltorena and 300 men to California in January 1842. Micheltorena

371-478: A second, the San Antonio sailed from Cabo San Lucas on February 15. At the same time, the various elements of the land parties began to move north from Loreto, Baja California Sur . The land expedition was assembled at Velicatá, where Serra established his first new mission . From there, Portolá's plan called for splitting the land expedition in two. The lead group, charged with building a wagon trail and pacifying

424-468: A white background, but neither were used after Alvarado made peace with Mexico. Alvarado, at age 27, was then appointed governor, but the city council of Los Angeles protested. Alvarado, Castro, and Graham went south and negotiated a compromise after three months, avoiding a civil war. However, the city council of San Diego then voiced its disagreement with Alvarado's revolt. This time, the Mexican government

477-466: Is California Historical Landmark number #348. California Historical Landmark reads: The adobe house, which is now occupied by a local bank branch, was seriously damaged in January, 2023, during the 2022–2023 California floods . Gaspar de Portol%C3%A1 Captain Gaspar de Portolá y Rovira (January 1, 1716 – October 10, 1786) was a Spanish Army officer and colonial administrator who served as

530-587: Is close to the spot where the expedition crossed the Santa Ana River, and the school has a 60-foot mural depicting the Portolà Expedition. Portola Parkway running through Irvine and Lake Forest (though not connected as of 2018), was also named after Portolà. It is said that Portolà used the same route Portola Parkway now runs across. Portola Drive, which runs parallel to and near the Monterey Bay shoreline,

583-513: Is remembered in the name of today's nearby city of La Puente . They arrived in what is now Los Angeles on August 2 (where the Los Angeles River and Arroyo Seco river meet). The following day, they marched out the Indian trail that would one day become Wilshire Boulevard to the present site of Santa Monica . Winding around to the area of later Saugus , now part of Santa Clarita , they reached

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636-601: The California Gold Rush , instead concentrating his efforts on agriculture and business. He opened the Union Hotel on the rancho in 1860, but his businesses were mostly unsuccessful. After Martina's death in 1876, Alvarado wrote his Historia de California . He died on his ranch in 1882 and is buried at Saint Mary Cemetery in Oakland . Alvarado's adobe house, at the foot of Alvarado Street in downtown Monterey, survives as

689-1210: The Los Angeles Central Library's History Room. The city of Portola in Plumas County , the town of Portola Valley in San Mateo County , and the Portola neighborhood of San Francisco were named after Portolà. A number of schools in California were also named after him, including Portola Hills Elementary School in Portola Hills , Portola Elementary School in San Bruno , Gaspar de Portola Middle School in Tierrasanta , Portola Middle School in Tarzana , Portola Middle School in Orange , & Portola High School in Irvine . The school in Orange

742-599: The Mexican–American War had begun. Pico, Castro, and Alvarado set aside their differences to focus on the American threat, but by the end of August, Pico and Castro fled to Mexico, and Alvarado was captured. Following his release, Alvarado spent the remainder of the war on his estate in Monterey. After the war, Alvarado was offered the governorship but declined, instead retiring to his wife Martina's family estate at Rancho San Pablo in 1848. Alvarado did not participate in

795-539: The Rancho Valle de San Jose on the south, Pacheco was an absentee landowner, but had a small adobe built in 1844, which is no longer standing. In 1854, Francisco Alviso, the son of Pacheco's majordomo (ranch manager), Francisco Solano Alviso, built the adobe ranch house that still stands on Foothill Road in the Alviso Adobe Community Park overlooking Amador Valley. With the cession of California to

848-746: The San Carlos , the first ship to leave La Paz, having met with fierce winds and storms on the journey, arrived on April 29. A third vessel was to follow with supplies, but it was probably lost at sea. The land expedition of Portolá arrived on June 29. After their arduous journeys, most of the men aboard ship were ill, chiefly from scurvy , and many had died. Out of a total of 219 who left Baja California, little more than 100 now survived. Eager to press on to Monterey Bay , Portolá and his expedition, consisting of Juan Crespí, 63 leather-jacket soldiers and 100 mules loaded down with provisions, headed north on July 14, 1769, marching two to four leagues (1 league = 2.6 miles)

901-521: The Spanish missions in California . He was appointed by José María de Echeandía to oversee the turn over of Mission San Miguel , even though Echeandía was no longer governor. The new governor Manuel Victoria rescinded the order and sought to have Alvarado and Castro arrested. The pair fled and were hidden by their old friend Vallejo, who had become adjutant at the Presidio of San Francisco . However, Victoria

954-465: The California coastline as far north as Monterey in 1602, but no significant Spanish settlement or even trading station had followed because those earlier explorations had failed to find a good harbor that the Spanish could have used for their long-standing Pacific maritime trade between Asia and Mexico: Monterey Bay, sighted by both Cabrillo and Vizcaíno, was exposed to rough currents and winds. In May 1768,

1007-830: The East Coast of North America, had also sent explorers into the Pacific. Russian fur hunters were pressing east from Siberia across the Bering Strait into the Aleutian Islands and beyond. Dispatches of January 23, 1768, exchanged between King Carlos and the viceroy, set the wheels in motion to extend Spain's control up the Pacific Coast and establish colonies and missions at San Diego Bay and Monterey Bay , which had been discovered and described in reports by earlier explorers Juan Cabrillo and Sebastián Vizcaíno . Vizcaíno had mapped

1060-544: The Golden Gate, and thus it was not exposed to rough ocean currents as was Monterey Bay, which had been known to the Spanish since Cabrillo's exploration in the sixteenth century. Despite the earlier explorations of Cabrillo and Vizcaíno, and despite two centuries of Spanish sailing the Pacific for trade between Asia and Mexico, the San Francisco Bay had been missed because of the fog that frequently shrouded its entrance. If

1113-963: The Jesuits from the Spanish Empire , Portolá was tasked with removing the Jesuits from Spanish missions in Baja California . He then ensured the missions were turned over to the Franciscans and later to the Dominicans . Spain was driven to establish missions and other outposts on the Pacific Coast north of the Baja California Peninsula by fears that the territory would be claimed by foreign powers, in addition to its Catholic proselytizing mission and insatiable need for additional sources of income. The British , who had established several colonies on

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1166-459: The San Francisco Bay had been discovered earlier, the region surrounding would have been settled by the Spanish earlier since it would have provided a safe, convenient harbor for Spain's Pacific maritime trade. Portolá's party then headed back to San Diego, exploring and naming many localities in the region south of what eventually became known as the Golden Gate . Surviving on mule meat for most of

1219-596: The Spanish Visitor General, José de Gálvez , began to organize an expedition , by sea and by land. Portolá was created "Governor of the Californias" and given overall command. Junípero Serra , leader of the expedition's Franciscan missionaries, took command of spiritual matters. Sea and land detachments were to meet at San Diego Bay. The first ship, the San Carlos , sailed from La Paz on January 10, 1769 and

1272-587: The US. All hands would be required for the task. This turned out to backfire on him, as on November 14, 1844, a group of Californios led by Manuel Castro revolted against Mexican authority. José Castro and Alvarado commanded the troops. Castro's drummer Juan 'Tambor' Higuera was killed during the capture of the barracks in Los Angeles, possibly the only Californio killed. A truce was negotiated and Micheltorena agreed to dismiss his convict troops. Micheltorena later reneged on

1325-699: The United States following the Mexican-American War , the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by the Land Act of 1851, a claim for Rancho Santa Rita was filed with the Public Land Commission in 1852, and the grant was patented to John Yountz, administrator of the estate of José Dolores Pacheco in 1865. In 1853, Rancho Santa Rita was sold to Augustin Alviso, grantee of Rancho Potrero de los Cerritos , by

1378-471: The Vallejo side, where he and Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo grew up together. They were both taught by William Edward Petty Hartnell , an English merchant living in Monterey. In 1827, eighteen-year-old Alvarado was hired as secretary to the territorial legislature. In 1829 he was briefly arrested along with Vallejo and José Castro by soldiers involved in the military revolt led by Joaquín Solis . In 1831 he built

1431-672: The area to become Santa Barbara on August 19, and the present-day San Simeon area on September 13. Unable to remain on the coast due to the steep, difficult terrain, the party turned inland. They marched through the San Antonio Valley and on October 1, Portolá's party emerged from the Santa Lucia Mountains and reached the mouth of the Salinas River . After a march of some 400 miles (640 km) from San Diego and about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from Velicatá, they had reached

1484-399: The bay they were seeking. But they failed to discern the coastline's semi-circular shape, described by Vizcaíno as round like an "O", even though members of the party had twice marched along its beach. Having failed to find their goal, they marched on north and reached the area at the north end of the bay, where Crespí named a creek Santa Cruz on October 18. Pushing on, they reached a creek in

1537-643: The bay, a Mass was conducted near the oak tree that the Carmelite missionaries with Vizcaíno had worshiped under in 1603, and possession was officially taken. On June 3, 1770, they laid the beginnings of the Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo and founded the Presidio of Monterey . Governor Portolá's task was finished. He then left Captain Pedro Fages in charge, and on June 9 he sailed for San Blas , never to return to Upper California. In 1776, Portolá

1590-505: The beginning of 1846. Afraid of foreign aggression, Castro assembled his militia, with Alvarado second in command, but Frémont went north to Oregon instead. An unstable political situation in Mexico strained relations among the Californios and it seemed that civil war would break out between north and south. On July 7, Commodore John D. Sloat occupied Monterey, declaring to the citizenry that

1643-423: The commodore to Micheltorena. Micheltorena eventually made it to Monterey, but was unable to control his troops, a number of which were convicts. This fomented rumors of a revolt, and by 1844, Alvarado became associated with the malcontents and an order was made by Micheltorena for his arrest. His detention was short-lived, as Micheltorena was under orders to organize a large contingent in preparation for war against

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1696-688: The deal and fighting broke out this time. The rebels won the Battle of Providencia in February 1845 at the Los Angeles River and Micheltorena and his troops left California. Pío Pico was installed as governor in Los Angeles and José Castro became commandant general. Later, Alvarado was elected to the Mexican Congress. He prepared to move to Mexico City, but Pico declined funding for the transfer, and relations between northern and southern California deteriorated further. John C. Frémont arrived in Monterey at

1749-514: The end of the independence movement. Alvarado was born in Monterey , Alta California , to Jose Francisco Alvarado and María Josefa Vallejo. His grandfather Juan Bautista Alvarado accompanied Gaspar de Portolá as an enlisted man in the Spanish Army in 1769. His father died a few months after his birth and his mother remarried three years later, leaving Juan Bautista in the care of his grandparents on

1802-428: The expedition's chaplain, again marched north. The expedition followed the same route they had the previous winter while returning to San Diego. After 36 days on the road, with only two days of rest, Portolá arrived at his second cross on May 24, 1770. He then saw that on a clear day and from a certain point of view the round harbor assumed the proportions described by the earlier enthusiastic explorers. Having recognized

1855-581: The expedition: San Diego de Alcalá on July 16, 1769 and Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo on June 3, 1770. Rivera reached the site of present-day San Diego in May, established a camp in the area that is now Old Town and awaited the arrival of the others. Because of an error by Vizcaíno in determining the latitude of the San Diego Harbor, the ships passed by it and landed too far north before finding their way back. The San Antonio arrived on April 11 and

1908-517: The first governor of the Californias from 1767 to 1770. Born in Catalonia into an aristocratic family , he is best known for leading the Portolá expedition into California , which laid the foundations of Spanish rule in the region Californian cities like San Diego and Monterey , and bestowed names to geographic features throughout California, many of which are still in use. Gaspar de Portolá y Rovira

1961-480: The governorship, but like the Mexican governors before him, the Californios forced him to flee. As senior members of the legislature, Alvarado and Castro, with political support from Vallejo and backing from a group of Tennesseans led by Capt. Isaac Graham , staged a revolt in November 1836 and forced Gutierrez out of the country. Alvarado's Californio coup wrote a constitution and adopted a new flag —a single red star on

2014-464: The heirs of Jose Delores Pacheco, Juana Pacheco and Salvio Pacheco . In 1854, Samuel B. Martin and West J. Martin purchased Rancho Santa Rita. They sold the ranch in 1865, and moved to Oakland . In 1865 William M. Mendenhall came to the valley, and in 1868 purchased 650 acres (2.6 km) of the Rancho Santa Rita grant. During the period of the railroad boom in the late 1860s, Rancho Santa Rita

2067-531: The journey, they arrived on January 24, 1770. On their way past Monterey Bay, they again failed to recognize it as the same bay that Vizcaíno had described in 1602. One of Portolá's officers, Captain Vicente Vila, convinced him that he had actually been exactly on the Bay of Monterey when he placed his second cross at what later became Pacific Grove . After replenishing supplies at San Diego, Portolá and Serra decided on

2120-671: The natives, was led by Captain Fernando Rivera y Moncada , and departed from Velicatá on March 24. With Rivera was the priest Juan Crespí , diarist for the Franciscans. The expedition led by Portolá, which included Junípero Serra (the President of the Missions), along with a combination of missionaries, settlers, and leather-jacket soldiers, including José Raimundo Carrillo , left Velicatá on May 15. Junípero Serra founded two more missions during

2173-421: The present-day town of Pacifica on October 31. On November 4, having crossed the low coastal mountain range above the creek, the party was stunned to catch a glimpse of the enormous San Francisco Bay from the mountain range, as the bay was previously unknown to the Spanish. This sighting was crucial to the later settlement of California because unlike Monterey Bay, it was surrounded by land on all sides except

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2226-433: The remainder of Rancho Santa Rita was offered for sale by Lagrance and Company of Oakland. In 1921 what was left of the Mexican grant was sold to Asa Mendenhall. 37°40′12″N 121°52′12″W  /  37.670°N 121.870°W  / 37.670; -121.870 Juan Bautista Alvarado Juan Bautista Valentín Alvarado y Vallejo (February 14, 1809 – July 13, 1882) usually known as Juan Bautista Alvarado ,

2279-532: The village was an unincorporated town of about 500 people, later renamed Pleasanton. Like Livermore , Pleasanton attained its size and importance with coming of the Union Pacific Railroad . In the early 1880s, Count Valensin purchased 140 acres (0.6 km), Maas Suders purchased a strip of land from the Mendenhall's 650 acres (2.6 km), and Samuel Hewlett purchased 1,600 acres (6.5 km). In 1894

2332-454: Was a Californio politician that served as governor of Alta California from 1837 to 1842. Prior to his term as governor, Alvarado briefly led a movement for independence of Alta California from 1836 to 1837, in which he successfully deposed interim governor Nicolás Gutiérrez , declared independence, and created a new flag and constitution, before negotiating an agreement with the Mexican government resulting in his recognition as governor and

2385-453: Was appointed as interim governor in January 1836. He was replaced by Mariano Chico in April, but Chico was unpopular. His intelligence agents told him that another Californio revolt was brewing, hence he fled to Mexico , claiming he planned to gather troops against the independent Californios. Instead, Mexico reprimanded him for abandoning his post. Gutierrez, the military commandant , re-assumed

2438-553: Was appointed the governor of Puebla . After the appointment of his successor in 1784, he was advanced money for expenses and returned to Spain, where he served as commander of the Numancia cavalry dragoon regiment. On February 7, 1786 he was appointed King's Lieutenant for the strongholds and castles of Lleida. He died that same year, in October. A 9 foot (2.7 m) statue in Pacifica, California

2491-410: Was born on January 1, 1716 in Os de Balaguer , Catalonia, into a family of minor Spanish nobility . After he came of age, Portolá joined the Spanish Army , being commissioned as an ensign in 1734 and a lieutenant in 1743. He saw service in Italy during the War of the Austrian Succession and participated in the Spanish invasion of Portugal during the Fantastic War . Following the expulsion of

2544-697: Was involved and there were rumors that the Mexican Army was ready to step in. Alvarado was able to negotiate another compromise to keep the peace. Mexico reneged on the agreement, however, and appointed Carlos Antonio Carrillo , who was very popular among the southerners, governor on December 6, 1837. This time, civil war broke out and after several battles, Carrillo was forced out. Mexico finally relented and recognized Alvarado as governor. Alvarado married Doña Martina Castro on August 24, 1839, in Santa Clara , but did not attend his own wedding having his half-brother, Jose Antonio Estrada, stand in for him. Though he claimed to be detained in Monterey on official business, it

2597-663: Was rumored he was actually drunk and unable to function. After the wedding, Alvarado lived with his bride in Monterey, but continued on with mistress, Raymunda, who lived nearby. The process of secularization of the missions was in its final stages, and it was at this time that Alvarado parceled out much of their land to prominent Californios via land grants. Though he took no land for himself, he did however, trade his Rancho El Sur to John B.R. Cooper in exchange for Rancho Bolsa del Potrero which he subsequently sold back to Cooper. He purchased Rancho El Alisal near Salinas in 1841 from his former tutor William Hartnell . In April 1840

2650-401: Was sculpted by the Catalan sculptor Josep Maria Subirachs and his associate, Francesc Carulla. It was given to the people of California by the Catalan government in 1988. The statue was taken down on January 18, 2024, after years of complaint that the statue was honoring European colonization in the area. A ten-foot high oil-on-canvas portrait of Portolá by Albert Herter in 1929 hangs in

2703-455: Was sub divided into fifteen farms. The farms were "small" tracts of about 300 acres (1.2 km) to 3,750 acres (15.2 km). The larger land owners consisted of J.W. Dougherty, 750 acres (3.0 km); Abdijah Baker, 2,078 acres (8.4 km); and William Knox, 360 acres (1.5 km). In 1869 J.W. Kottinger and J.A. Neal each laid out and plotted a subdivision for a new town called Alisal , situated about five miles south of Dublin . By 1878

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2756-587: Was to assume the governorship and the position of commandant general . In October, before Micheltorena reached Monterey, American Commodore Thomas ap Catesby Jones mistakenly thought that war had broken out between the US and Mexico. He sailed into Monterey Bay and demanded the surrender of the Presidio of Monterey . Micheltorena's force was still in the south and the Monterey presidio was undermanned. Alvarado reluctantly surrendered, and retired to Rancho El Alisal. The next day Commodore Jones learned of his mistake, but Alvarado declined to return and instead referred

2809-498: Was unpopular and Echeandía overthrew his rule and replaced him with Pío de Jesús Pico near the end of 1831. Secularization of the missions resumed in 1833. In 1834 Alvarado was elected to the legislature as a delegate and appointed customs inspector in Monterey. Governor José Figueroa granted Rancho El Sur , two square leagues of land, or about 9,000 acres (3,600 ha), south of Monterey, to Alvarado on October 30, 1834. After Figueroa's death in September 1835, Nicolás Gutiérrez

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