Historical Marker · No. 830
Old Town San Diego
San Diego, San Diego County · California
Erected by State Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation with local civic and historical organizations, August 20, 1969
The bronze quotes a sentence without saying whose it is. Richard Henry Dana counted the huts in 1835 and put them in Two Years Before the Mast. That was the year San Diego became a self-governing pueblo, on thirteen votes cast in its first election, Juan María Osuna beating Pío Pico for alcalde. By 1838 the population had fallen to something near 150 and Mexico revoked the status, running the town from Los Angeles. The marker quotes the high-water mark and stops there.
What the plaque says
Old Town San Diego Settled by pensioned soldiers and their families from the presidio, Old Town grew in the early 1800's into a cluster of adobe houses and garden plots. By 1835, “it was composed of about 40 dark brown looking huts.” The Stars and Stripes were first raised over the plaza in 1846 by Marines from the U.S.S. “Cyane.” California Registered Historical Landmark No. 830 Plaque placed by the State Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation with local civic and historical organizations, August 20, 1969.
Where it stands
32.75504, -117.19775 · Directions
More markers nearby
- Congress Hall Site — steps away
- Plaza, San Diego Viejo (Washington Square) — steps away
- Casa de Machado y Silvas — steps away
- Exchange Hotel — steps away