In July 1769 the first Spanish land expedition to explore California set out from San Diego to march to Monterey Bay, but didn't recognize it when they stood on its shore. They kept headed north, and in early November discovered San Francisco Bay. -- Appearance and customs of the Indians. -- Locations of the expedition's campsites. -- Following the route on modern roads. -- Place names, old and new.
This national bestseller chronicles one man’s 650–mile trek on foot from San Diego to San Francisco—sure to appeal to readers of naturalist works like Edward Abbey’s Desert Solitaire, Paul Thoreau’s On the Plain of Snakes, and Mark Kenyon’s That Wild Country. In 1769, an expedition led by Gaspar de Portolá sketched a route that would become, in part, the famous El Camino Real. It laid the foundation for the Golden State we know today, a place that remains as mythical and captivating as any in the world. Despite having grown up in California, Nick Neely realized how little he knew about its history. So he set off to learn it bodily, with just a backpack and a tent, trekking through stretches of California both lonely and urban. For twelve weeks, following the journal of expedition missionary Father Juan Crespí, Neely kept pace with the ghosts of the Portolá expedition—nearly 250 years later. Weaving natural and human history, Alta California relives Neely’s adventure, while telling a story of Native cultures and the Spanish missions that soon devastated them, and exploring the evolution of California and its landscape. The result is a collage of historical and contemporary California, of lyricism and pedestrian serendipity, and of the biggest issues facing California today—water, agriculture, oil and gas, immigration, and development—all of it one step at a time. “Rich in little–known history . . . Up the Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo county coasts, then inland into the Salinas Valley to Monterey Bay. Somewhere along here, the owl moons and woodpeckers do something you might not have thought possible in 2019: they make you fall, or refall, in love with California, ungrudgingly, wildfires and insane housing prices and all . . . What a journey, you think. What a state." —San Francisco Chronicle
History of early Spanish colonization of California. Historian Eldredge writes of the land march of Portola in 1769, culminating in the discovery of San Francisco Bay. E.J. Molera writes of Portola after he left California, and of the first ship to enter San francisco Bay (the packet boat San Carlos) under the command of Don Juan Manuel de Ayala. Included are Molera's translations of Ayala's report to the Viceroy of New Spain, Ayala's description of San Francisco Bay and Pilot de Canizares' report to Ayala of the reconnaissance of the Bay. Illustrations include the first survey and map of San Francisco Bay from a photograph of the Pilot's original drawing attached to the log of the San Carlos in Seville.
Colonial American History Stories - 1763 - 1769 contains almost 300 history stories presented in a timeline that begins in 1755 with the hanging of the Liberty Bell and ends with the Treaty of Paris that ended the French and Indian War. This journal of historical events mark the beginnings of the United States and serve as a wonderful guide of American history. These reader friendly stories include: March 10, 1753- Liberty Bell Hung April 9, 1754 - Slave Girl Priscilla Begins Her Horrible Journey April 12, 1755 - Ben Franklin Receives Letter Describing Death by Tapeworm November 01, 1756 - Samuel Adams Elected Tax Collector June 28, 1762 - First Reported Counterfeiting Attempt at Boston timeline, journal, events, stories, united states, beginnings, guide little known, obscure, facts, forgotten, stories,
The Railroad Age, The Depression, World War II, The Atomic Age, The Sixties—these periods shaped and were in turn shaped by Berkeley, California—a city that has had a remarkable influence given its modest size. This concise book, the only up-to-date history of Berkeley, is a rich chronicle connecting the people, trends, and events that made the city to much larger themes in history. From the native builders of shellmounds to the blue-collar residents of Ocean View, the rise of the University of California, the World War II shipyards, and today's demographics and politics, it's all here in this fascinating account of the other beloved city by the bay. Along the way, we find the answers to many intriguing questions: Why is Adeline Street is so oddly aligned? How did Berkeley benefit from the 1906 earthquake that destroyed much of San Francisco? What differentiated Holy Hill from Nut Hill? Berkeley: A City in History offers a delightful sense of place to anyone who has lived in, worked in, or traveled through this unique city.
