Don Pío de Jesús Pico IV was a Californio politician, ranchero, and entrepreneur, famous for serving as the last governor of Alta California under Mexican rule from 1845 to 1846. He briefly held the governorship during a disputed period in 1832. A member of the prominent Pico family of California, he was one of the wealthiest men in California at the time and a hugely influential figure in Californian society, continuing as a citizen of the nascent U.S. state of California. His legacy can be seen in the numerous places named after him, such as the city of Pico Rivera, Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles, Pio Pico State Historic Park, and numerous schools that bear his name.
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, located in the Old Town neighborhood of San Diego, California, is a state protected historical park in San Diego. It commemorates the early days of the City of San Diego and includes many historic buildings from the period 1820 to 1870. The park was established in 1968. In 2005 and 2006, California State Parks listed Old Town San Diego as the most visited state park in California.
San Miguel de Allende is the principal city in the municipality of San Miguel de Allende, located in the far eastern part of Guanajuato, Mexico. A part of the Bajío region, the town lies 274 km (170 mi) from Mexico City, 86 km (53 mi) from Querétaro and 97 km (60 mi) from the state capital of Guanajuato. The town's name derives from a 16th-century friar, Juan de San Miguel, and a martyr of Mexican Independence, Ignacio Allende, who was born in a house facing the central plaza. San Miguel de Allende was a critical epicenter during the historic Chichimeca War (1540–1590) when the Chichimeca held back the Spanish Empire during the initial phases of European colonization. Today, an old section of the town is part of a proclaimed World Heritage Site, attracting thousands of tourists and new residents from abroad every year.
Juan Bandini was a Peruvian-born Californio public figure, politician, and ranchero. He is best known for his role in the development of San Diego in the mid-19th century.
José María Estudillo was a Spanish-born Californio military officer and early settler of San Diego. He is the founder of the Estudillo family of California and served as Commandant of the Presidio of San Diego.
Arcadia Bandini de Stearns Baker (1827–1912) was a wealthy Californio landowner and socialite of Los Angeles. She played an important role in the elite society of Los Angeles and, later, Santa Monica. She was married to two wealthy Anglo-American men over the course of her life, Abel Stearns and then Colonel Robert S. Baker. Like many californias of her time, Arcadia Bandini provided to her Anglo husbands opportunities for entrance into and alliances within the established californio elite society. She was a skilled businesswoman in her own right, as well as a renowned hostess and organizer of balls and other social functions.
Gold Gulch was the largest funfair concession built for visitors at the California Pacific International Exposition, a World's Fair that was open from 1935 to 1936, in San Diego, Southern California, United States. Gold Gulch was a section celebrating the California Gold Rush and the American Old West.
Rancho Vallecitos de San Marcos was a 8,975-acre (36.32 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day northern San Diego County, California given in 1840 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Jose María Alvarado. The name means little valleys of St. Mark. The grant was located between Rancho Rincon del Diablo of Alvardo's father, Juan Bautista Alvarado on the east and Rancho Buena Vista on the west, and encompassed present day San Marcos.
Rancho Guajome Adobe is a historic 19th-century hacienda in Rancho Guajome Adobe County Park, on North Santa Fe Avenue in Vista, San Diego County, California. Built in 1852–53, it is a well-preserved but late example of Spanish-Mexican colonial architecture, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970. It is also a California Historical Landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places.
Old Town is a neighborhood of San Diego, California. It contains 230 acres (93 ha) and is bounded by Interstate 8 on the north, Interstate 5 on the west, Mission Hills on the east and south. It is the oldest settled area in San Diego and is the site of the first European settlement in present-day California. It contains Old Town San Diego State Historic Park and Presidio Park, both of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Rancho Guajome was a 2,219-acre (8.98 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day San Diego County, California given in 1845 by Governor Pío Pico to Andrés and José Manuel, Indians. The name comes from a Luiseño phrase involving the word "frog", likely wakhavumi "frog pond" or waxáawu-may "little frog". The grant was south of San Luis Rey River and Rancho Monserate and north of present-day Vista. The site is now registered as California Historical Landmark #940.
Abel Stearns was an American trader who came to the Pueblo de Los Angeles, Alta California in 1829 and became a major landowner and cattle rancher and one of the area's wealthiest citizens.
Rancho El Rincón was a 4,431-acre (17.93 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day San Bernardino County and Riverside County, California given in 1839 to Juan Bandini by Governor Juan Alvarado. El rincón means "the corner" in Spanish. The grant, located south of present-day Chino, was bounded on the east by Rancho Jurupa, on the south by the Santa Ana River, on the west by Rancho Cañón de Santa Ana, and extending northerly from the river one league. The rancho lands include Prado Regional Park.
Rancho Buena Vista was a 2,288-acre (9.26 km2) Mexican land grant in present day San Diego County, California given in 1845 by Governor Pío Pico to Felipe, an Indian. The name means "good view" in Spanish. The grant was south of San Luis Rey River and Rancho Monserate and encompassed present day Vista.
Camp Salvation was a refugee camp set up on September 23, 1849, to help those traveling to the California Gold Rush. Emigrants were crossing the harsh Sonoran Desert to get to California through the Southern Emigrant Trail. The camp was located in the current town of Calexico, California. Lieutenant Cave Johnson Couts, an Escort Commander with the International Boundary Commission set up the camp. From September 23 till December 1, 1849, the camp helped travelers on the trail. In June 1849 the United States Boundary Commission arrived in San Diego to survey the international border between United States and Mexico.
Plaza Hotel in San Juan Bautista, California in San Benito County, is a California Historical Landmark No. 654 listed on March 6, 1935. The Plaza Hotel was built in 1813 as a adobe soldiers barracks by New Spain. The Spanish soldiers were stationed at the barracks to guard the Mission San Juan Bautista founded on June 24, 1797, by Fermín Lasuén. across the street. The Plaza Hotel building was built as a one-story building and later in the 1850s a second floor was added.
San Diego Viejo Plaza, also called Plaza de Las Armas, Old Town Plaza, Washington Square, is a historical site in San Diego, California. The San Diego Viejo Plaza site is California Historical Landmark No. 63, listed on December 5, 1932. The plaza was the center of Pueblo de San Diego founded in 1835 in Alta California.
