Alta California

Alta California. , Spain claimed Alta California after its conquest of Mexico (1519-1521) When reports of British and Russian encroachment in Northern California began to circulate in the 1760s, Spain expanded its colonial settlements to defend the California coast. Spanish colonialism relied upon the building of a fort (presidio) and a religious-economic mission (mission). Today’s Redwood City was located midway between Mission San Francisco de Asís (today’s Mission Dolores) at San Francisco and Mission Santa Clara de Asís at Santa Clara., Don José Dario Argüello was awarded a 69,000-acre land grant for his military service to the Spanish crown in 1795 and was appointed governor in 1814. One section of the rancho stretched along the California coast from Point Año Nuevo to Point San Pedro. The second grant, at 35,420 acres, was bounded by San Mateo Creek to the north, San Francisquito Creek to the south, San Francisco Bay to the east and the Coast Range Mountains to the west. It was known as Rancho de las Pulgas (Ranch of the Fleas). Cattle and horses were raised on the land, which today encompasses Stanford Redwood City. The Argüellos also helped to sustain the mission by giving the Franciscan priests food, hides and tallow., (There is a small panel in braille below the main text), Images: , (Top) The Argüello family lived most of the year in San Francisco as travel to the Rancho de las Pulgas was difficult and sometimes dangerous in the early years of the Spanish colonial era. Argüello’s daughter-in-law Dona Maria Soledad Ortega de Arguello inherited the Rancho de las Pulgas and moved to San Carlos after her husband’s death. Dona Argüello was forced to defend her land claims in court when California became part of the United State in 1848. She paid her lawyer, Simon Mezes, with a portion of the rancho lands that later became Redwood City, including the Stanford Redwood City site. , (Bottom Left) Statue of Dona Argüello at the Redwood City train station. , (Bottom Right) Actors Carmen Argüello and Mariquita Derby appeared together in the play “The Madonna of Monterey” in 1930.