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Spanish Royal Presidios in California


Personal Observations

First we tried to find the Presidio in San Diego but could only find Presidio Hill with a few markers and a museum to Father Serra. Next we tried to find the Presidio in Monterey but only found a wooden building of artifacts from the American period. We finally found something like what we were looking for in the heart of Santa Barbara. In a later visit we found Presidio Hill in San Diego. We found the Presidio Chapel in Monterey the last day before closing for several years of restoration. We ahve not yet found anything of the San Francisco Presidio.

History

When Spain began settlement of California, there were three organizations in their plan, the missions, the presidios, and the pueblos. The presidios were the military arm of the settlement plan. The first presidio established was in San Diego in 1769. Two more presidios were established in Monterey (1770 [verify]) and San Francisco (1776). The fourth presidio was founded in Santa Barbara on April 21, 1782. The San Diego Presidio was responsible for security for the missions from San Diego to San Gabriel. Santa Barbara Presidio provided security to the missions along the Central Coast including San Fernando and the Pueblo of Los Angeles to San Luis Obispo.

#1 San Diego Royal Presidio
#2 Monterey Royal Presidio
#3San Francisco Royal Presidio
#4 Santa Barbara Royal Presidio

#1 San Diego Royal Presidio


#2 Monterey Royal Presidio


#3San Francisco Royal Presidio

No image, nothing remains of the Spanish Presidio.

#4 Santa Barbara Royal Presidio

Santa Barbara Royal Presidio

Sources:

[an error occurred while processing this directive] This page last updated: Monday, 02-Jun-2025 21:55:04 PDT
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