IN THIS SECTION:
European Discovery and Settlement
In 1579, Sir Francis Drake and his company from England became the first Europeans to discover San Francisco, reaching its western coastline. However, the geography and fog kept the great harbor of San Francisco hidden and delayed European settlement; it was not until the 18th century that Europeans settled in the area, beginning with the Spanish. In 1769, Gaspar de Portola, the commander of the Spanish missionary Sacred Expedition (which included Father Junipero Serra), accidentally discovered the San Francisco Bay while looking for a sailing route to the mission near the Monterey Bay. Six years later, in 1775, another Spaniard, Juan Bautista de Anza, and his party discover the first overland route to San Francisco Bay as they traveled north from Monterey. Anza marked the future sites of the presidio and the mission, staking Spain's claim to the land. Thus begins the complex relationship between the Europeans, namely the Spanish, and the Native Americans in this region. (click for more about Native Americans in the Presidio and the Mission.)
The Mission and the Presidio became self-sufficient social systems through the skills and labor of the Native Americans. Using the ruse of Christian evangelization, the Spanish missionaries forcibly brought Native Americans, most from the Ohlone, Miwok, Patwin, Wappo, and Yokuts tribes, into the mission for conversion. While in the missions, the Native Americans were forced to worked 30-40 hours per week for no pay. According to European observers and some accounts from Native Americans themselves, it was the Native American labor that sustained the mission and eventually created a surplus. The Spanish would then take the surplus to trade with the presidio and foreign ships. The Native Americans also were responsible for construction around the mission. They built chapels, workshops, storerooms, mills, bathhouses, aqueducts and housing, which established early forms of infrastructure within the mission area.
Yerba Buena
Now the Spanish were not the only ones coming to San Francisco. As mentioned earlier, the British were aware of the region though apparently had little interest. The Russians were also in the area and their perceived competition to the Spanish is partly what spurred the Spanish to hurry and settle in the area. However, this rivalry never really panned out as the Russians preferred to do their fur trapping and whaling further north of San Francisco. Instead, the Russians and other Europeans such as the French and British, served as a source of trade for the Spanish settlers in San Francisco, even finding peace through intermarriages. Nevertheless, Spain was experiencing internal unrest with the colonized Mexicans. In 1810, Mexicans began rebelling against the Spanish and in 1821, they gained their independence. As part of the new independent Mexico, San Francisco gradually moved away from the mission system and began privatizing land, giving large amounts of land grants to Californios (California-born of Spanish or Mexican descent) and other foreigners wishing to settle in the region.
One such foreigner was the British Captain William Richardson (1795-1856). Richardson arrived in San Francisco in 1822, coming via the British whaling ship Orion. Like most of the settlers at that time, Richardson assumed Mexican citizenship and married a woman from the local population. He was given a 19,500-acre land grant from the alcalde Don Francisco de Haro and in 1835, Richardson became the first recorded settler of Yerba Buena pueblo (original name of the town of San Francisco) when he built the first permanent civilian house near Yerba Buena Cove on the northeast coast of the peninsula, which today lies near the Financial District (since most of Yerba Buena Cove was filled). He was appointed the harbormaster of the bay and set up his business trading with the ships that entered the bay. Like Richardson, many settled in Yerba Buena and became entrepeneurs. Though its land was not seemingly arable, Yerba Buena was good for cattle and developed as a trading post for hides and tallows.
One such foreigner was the British Captain William Richardson (1795-1856). Richardson arrived in San Francisco in 1822, coming via the British whaling ship Orion. Like most of the settlers at that time, Richardson assumed Mexican citizenship and married a woman from the local population. He was given a 19,500-acre land grant from the alcalde Don Francisco de Haro and in 1835, Richardson became the first recorded settler of Yerba Buena pueblo (original name of the town of San Francisco) when he built the first permanent civilian house near Yerba Buena Cove on the northeast coast of the peninsula, which today lies near the Financial District (since most of Yerba Buena Cove was filled). He was appointed the harbormaster of the bay and set up his business trading with the ships that entered the bay. Like Richardson, many settled in Yerba Buena and became entrepeneurs. Though its land was not seemingly arable, Yerba Buena was good for cattle and developed as a trading post for hides and tallows.
Richardson sketched informal plans of Yerba Buena but a more-detailed survey was necessary to properly divide the settlements into sellable lots. So, in 1839, the alcalde Francisco Guerrero commissioned Jean-Jacques Vioget, a Swiss-born engineer, to survey and plan the town. The result was a grid map following typical Spanish patterns with 12 blocks and a central plaza. Today, this plan lies in the Financial District near Montgomery Street and Montgomery Street.
In 1846, during the Mexican-American War, Captain John Montgomery claimed Yerba Buena for the U.S. and, in 1847, the town was renamed San Francisco. Shortly afterwards, the new alcalde commissioned Jasper O'Farrell, an Irish-born engineer, to improve and extend Vioget's plan. O'Farrell discovered that Vioget's street designs were two and a half degrees off from a true right angle and corrected it. O'Farrell kept Vioget's grid pattern but widened the streets. He also created the 120-foot wide Market Street (after Philadelphia's Market Street) which provided a direct path to the mission. He continued the grid pattern south of Market Street, which met Vioget's streets at a 36-degree angle and named many of the new streets. William Eddy continued the grid pattern even further south.
In 1846, during the Mexican-American War, Captain John Montgomery claimed Yerba Buena for the U.S. and, in 1847, the town was renamed San Francisco. Shortly afterwards, the new alcalde commissioned Jasper O'Farrell, an Irish-born engineer, to improve and extend Vioget's plan. O'Farrell discovered that Vioget's street designs were two and a half degrees off from a true right angle and corrected it. O'Farrell kept Vioget's grid pattern but widened the streets. He also created the 120-foot wide Market Street (after Philadelphia's Market Street) which provided a direct path to the mission. He continued the grid pattern south of Market Street, which met Vioget's streets at a 36-degree angle and named many of the new streets. William Eddy continued the grid pattern even further south.
Much has been made afterwards of Vioget's and O'Farrell's disregard for San Francisco's topography, laying down a grid pattern on top of sand dunes and hills instead of going around them. It was an issue that was raised by the citizens during O'Farrell's time. However, influential landowners dismissed the issue, saying that the grid pattern was most convenient and existing buildings would not have to be realigned. Until the advent of the cable car, the hilltops were barely populated despite streets running through them. As you can see, most of Vioget's and O'Farrell's plan are still in place today.
The Gold Rush (1848-1853)
In January of 1848, it is said that James Marshall found gold in John Sutter's mill, located just north of Sacramento. Although they did not want to inform anybody of their discovery, San Francisco newspaper publisher Samuel Brannan spread the word around the town that gold had been found in California. News spread quickly and when President James Polk confirmed the discovery in an address to Congress in December 1848, it set off a large rush of people towards California. San Francisco, in particular, experienced a population boom. In 1948 right before the Gold Rush, the recently renamed San Francisco was home to nearly 1,000 people; by the end of the Gold Rush in 1952, the population reached over 30,000. The large influx of people from all around the world forced San Francisco to rapidly develop. At the beginning of the Gold Rush, San Francisco was a tent city filled with a transient population. Most fortune-seekers were hoping to strike gold quickly then return home. But as more and more people entered California through San Francisco, some individuals began to realize that they may strike it rich not by searching for gold but, rather, by providing services to the miners that were. They charged high prices for food, laundry, tools, boarding and lodging, transportation, etc.
The profits from this helped turn San Francisco into a "city". Wooden and brick-and-stone buildings began to spring up and street lamps illuminated the streets. Churches and schools were built, councils were organized. In 1950, California entered the union and gained statehood; San Francisco became a state-approved chartered city. But becoming an instant city brought a manifestation of the vices usually associated with a "city". Crime rates went up. Especially with all the gold being accumulated, gambling houses and saloons became widespread. With a small woman population in San Francisco, prostitution was a lucrative occupation. Six major fires occurred during the four-year span, which led to the creation of a fire department. Still, no one could deny that San Francisco was no longer just a trading post in the wild west. San Francisco was now a cosmopolitan city that people wanted to see.