More Information about the origin of the name San Diego, CA (USA)

[bill deutschman]

John Voltz reminded me that the Franciscan's founded many of the early
California towns so I did some more searching on California Missions and found
the following information about San Diego, CA (USA).


Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo discovered San Diego Bay in 1542 and named it San
Miguel. It was renamed San Diego in 1602 by Sebastian Vizcaino. On July 16,
1769, Gaspar de Portola established a base for the exploration of California;
on the same day Father Junipero Serra dedicated the first California Franciscan
mission there. The town grew slowly under Mexican rule and was captured by U.S.
forces in 1885. The present city was laid out in 1867 by Alonzo E. Horton. An
1870 gold strike and the arrival of the Santa Fe Railroad in 1885 assured San
Diego's growth. In 1915 the city was the site of the Panama-California
Exposition.


 From the following WEB Page:
www.cuca.k12.ca.us/lessons/missions/Diego/SanDiegoDeAlcala.html
Mission San Diego de Alcala. (National Archives.)
Mission San Diego de Alcala was founded on July 16, 1769, by Father Junipero
Serra, Father-Presidente of the Mission Chain. It was the 1st mission in the 21
mission chain in Alta California and known as the "Mother of the Alta
California Missions". It was named for Saint Didacus of Alcala, a name given to
the bay 167 years earlier by the Spanish explorer, Sebastian Vizcaino. Father
Luis Jayme was left in charge of building the mission when Father Serra left
for Monterey to establish the 2nd mission. The church building is 135 feet long
and 29 feet high.


 From the following WEB Page:
http://gocalifornia.about.com/bl_mis_sd_hist.htm
Founding Mission San Diego de Alcala
Mission San Diego de Alcala was California's first. In March, 1769, a party of
219 men called the Sacred Expedition, led by Father Junipero Serra and Don
Gaspar de Portola, left Baja California, Mexico, to establish the first Spanish
church in what is now the state of California. Two separate groups made the
journey, one traveling by land and one by sea. In July 1769 the two expeditions
met in on a hillside above a wide bay. It was a difficult journey and almost
half the men had died on the way, many more were ill, and one ship was lost.

As soon as he was able, Portola took Fathers Crespi and Gomez and the strongest
men and set out for Monterey Bay. Father Serra and the rest selected a site - a
spot at the base of a hill and beside a river, overlooking a beautiful bay.
Nearby, on a hilltop, was a native American village.

On the morning of July 16, Father Junipero Serra celebrated the first mass
beside a wooden cross. He named the new mission San Diego de Alcala in honor or
Saint Didacus of Alcala, the same name that explorer Sebastian Vizcaino gave
the bay 167 years earlier.


A link to a page about Saint Didacus of Alcala:

http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintd14.htm

bill

bill deutschman
455 hillside avenue
klamath falls, or 97601
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