Juan Bautista de Anza

Juan Bautista de Anza commanded the Tubac presidio, the son and grandson of frontier captains before him. In 1775 he led some two hundred forty colonists — soldiers, families, children, and livestock — north out of Tubac on an overland gamble across desert and the Colorado River, and the next year they founded San Francisco on the far California coast. Spain made him governor of New Mexico in 1777. He lies buried in the cathedral at Arizpe, in Sonora. His route is retraced today as a national historic trail.

What the plaque says

Captain Juan Bautista de Anza, son and grandson of Presidial Captains of New Spain, was commander of the Tubac Presidio from 1759 to 1775, the year in which he lead an overland expedition to California to found San Francisco. In 1777 he became Governor of New Mexico. He is buried in the cathedral at Arispe, Sonora.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Tumacácori National Historical Park — 2.7 mi
  Arizona's first mission, on O'odham ground along the Santa Cruz River.

More markers nearby

• Charles Debrille Poston — steps away
• Baca Float Number 3 — steps away
• Tubac — 0.3 mi
• Mission San José de Tumacácori — 3.0 mi