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In 1542, while Kumeyaay Indians waited on a beach at Ballast Point, Juan Cabrillo (see Point Loma) stepped ashore and claimed the land for Spain. In 1803, the “Battle of San Diego Bay” took place here, after Spanish Fort Guijarros fired on an American brig in a smuggling incident.

After Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821, retired soldiers and their families moved downhill from the presidio, built homes, and opened businesses. An open trade policy attracted others to settle, and by the end of the decade, 600 people lived in Old Town – San Diego’s commercial and residential center until 1872.

Spain established its presence in California atop this hill, and Father Serra founded the first mission (see Mission San Diego de Alcalá) here. During the Mexican-American War in 1846, possession of an earthwork fortress on the hill changed hands three times between the Americans and Californios.

Originally built on Presidio Hill in 1769, this mission moved up the valley a few years later. The first of 21 missions, it was the birthplace of Christianity in California. It was the only mission to be attacked by Indians. In 1847, the US Cavalry occupied the grounds (see Mission San Diego de Alcalá).

Filled with late-19th century Victorian architecture, this premiere historic site was once the commercial heart of Alonzo Horton’s (see Moments in History) New Town. When development moved north to Broadway, the neighborhood succumbed to gambling halls and brothels. It was revitalized in the 1970s (see Gaslamp Quarter).

San Diego International Airport (see San Diego International Airport) is popularly called after Charles Lindbergh (see Charles Lindbergh (1853–1926)), who began the first leg of his trans-Atlantic crossing from here in 1927. The US Army Air Corps drained the surrounding marshland, took over the small airport, and enlarged the runways to accommodate the heavy bomber aircraft manufactured in San Diego during World War II.

The Mexican-American War concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (see California Becomes a State (1850)) on February 2, 1848. A US and Mexican Boundary Commission then determined the new international border between the two countries, with California divided into Alta and Baja. A marker placed in 1851 on a bluff in this park (see Border Field State Park) marks the farthest western point of the new border.

On December 6, 1846, an army of volunteer Mexican-Californian ranchers, known as Californios, defeated the invading American army of dragoons in one of the bloodiest battles of the Mexican-American War. Though the Californios won the battle, they subsequently lost the war, and California became part of the US.

Memorial plaque at San Pasqual Valley

Nicknamed the “King of Missions” for its size, wealth, and vast agricultural estates, this mission is the largest adobe structure in California. The Franciscan padres Christianized 3,000 Indians here. After secularization, the mission fell into disrepair and was used for a time as military barracks. Now restored to its former glory, the Franciscan Order administers the mission (see Mission San Luis Rey de Francia).

The discovery of gold in the hills northeast of San Diego in 1870 was the largest strike in Southern California. For five years miners poured into the town of Julian (see Julian), which would have become the new county seat if San Diego supporters had not plied the voters of Julian with liquor on election day. The gold eventually ran out, but not until millions of dollars were pumped into San Diego’s economy.