Captain Pedro Fages Trail

The bronze's first white men were news in this valley. Crespí's diary describes three villages of little grass houses here whose people ran off shouting and panic-stricken at the sight of the riders; the San Ramon Valley's museum names them as the Tatcan, a Bay Miwok people. Fages had been sent to find a way around the bay so a mission to St. Francis could stand on its north shore. The strait and the rivers beyond turned him back, and the mission went south of the Golden Gate instead. This was the historical society's first plaque, for the bicentennial.

What the plaque says

Historical Landmark 1772 Captain Pedro Fages Trail Fages, Commandante at Monterey, vainly looked for a way across San Francisco Bay. With Juan Crespi, Franciscan missionary, 14 soldiers, a muleteer and an Indian servant, he trekked along Carquinez Strait, thence eastward nearly to Antioch. Turning back, these first white men to explore what became Contra Costa County passed this point and camped near Danville March 31, 1772. Placed and dedicated April 1, 1972 San Ramon Valley Historical Society

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Mount Diablo — 6.5 mi
• Rainbow Trout Species Identified — 7.4 mi
• Joaquín Moraga Adobe — 7.5 mi
• Site of Blossom Rock Navigation Trees — 8.8 mi