Outpost of an Empire

Outpost of an Empire. Golden Gate National Recreation Area. You are standing near what was the northwest corner of the Spanish Presidio (1776). For almost fifty years a walled-in cluster of adobe buildings served as the northernmost outpost of Spain's New World colonies. From this site and the Spanish mission three miles away, the city of San Francisco would eventually develop., The Spanish garrison here protected Spanish land and regulated ship traffic into the bay until Mexico took control of this territory in 1822. Duty was never easy. Unreliable supply lines left the soldiers constantly wanting. Rain eroded and earthquakes fractured the adobe walls. When the Americans occupied the post in 1846, they found a dilapidated post "crumbling for want of care.", Captions , Larger image: An artist's conception of the Spanish Presidio as it likely appeared about 1800. The post was 100 yards square, "with divisions for church, royal offices, warehouses, guardhouse, and houses for soldier settlers." , Smaller image: In 1993, archaeologists discovered the foundations of the Spanish Presidio. The foundations were five feet wide and could have supported adobe walls up to twelve feet high.