Spanish Landing

The bronze names two ships. There were three. The San José sailed from Baja California in June 1769, turned back for repairs, sailed again the following year, and was never seen after that. The men camped here watched the horizon for her through a winter of scurvy and short rations, and about eighty of the sea parties died, her crew counted among them, before the San Antonio came back with corn and flour in March 1770. The Spanish occupation of Alta California began as a wait for a ship already gone.

What the plaque says

Spanish Landing Near this point, sea and land parties of the Portolá-Serra Expedition met. Two ships, the San Antonio and San Carlos, anchored on May 4-5, 1769. The scurvy-weakened survivors of the voyage established a camp, where on May 14 and July 1 they greeted the overland parties from Baja California. Together, they began the Spanish occupation of Alta California. California Registered Historical Landmark No. 891 Plaque placed by the State Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation with the San Diego Unified Port District and Squibob Chapter, E Clampus Vitus, May 8, 1976.

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• USS Recruit — 0.5 mi
• Old Landing, Site of El Desembarcadero — 0.8 mi
• Casa de Lopez — 1.7 mi
• Adobe Chapel of the Immaculate Conception — 1.8 mi