Alameda County is between Contra Costa and Santa Clara counties.
From Santa
Clara, travel north on Warm Springs/North Milpitas Road. At
Mission Blvd., turn right onto Mission Blvd,/CA 238. In Fremont,
stop at Mission
San José (43300 Mission Blvd.), or take a hike in Garin
Park. In Hayward, take a short detour east on Foothill Blvd.
to visit Anza Park (camp #98). Continue north on Mission Blvd./CA
238 to its intersection with I- 580 in Castro Valley. Travel northeast
on I-580 to Oakland and take the Coolidge exit to visit the Peralta
Hacienda, or the Lakeshore exit (to 11th St.) to get
to the Anza Trail’s administrative offices. The Hacienda has interpretive
information on the expedition. To continue to Contra
Costa County, head north on I-580/80 past Berkeley towards San
Pablo Bay.
At Higuera Historical Park, one can view an adobe built by
expedition descendant Fulgencio Higuera. The Park is located
at 47300 Rancho Higuera Road off of Mission Blvd. at the foot
of Mission Peak Regional Park in Fremont.
At Anza Park in Hayward, there's a plaque commemorating Anza's
passage (See item "D." and Camp #98 in "Sites of Interest").
Visit the Oakland Museum of California, at 100 Oak St., with
its displays on the natural and cultural history of early
California, and the nearby administrative offices of the National
Historic Trail.
If you would like to send us comments or questions about this
Trail Guide, please contact us at:
National Park Service,
Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail -
1111 Jackson Street, Suite 700, Oakland, California 94607;
Tel. 510-817-1438,
Fax 510-817-1505,
web: nps.gov/juba
About
Your Visit to Alameda County
After measuring the Palo Alto, and camping in the vicinity
of the Guadalupe River at the southern tip of the bay, Font,
Anza, Moraga and the exploratory band of soldiers made a sharp
"U" turn to ascend into the low hills parallel to the eastern
shore of the San Francisco Bay. At many of the creeks along
the way, they encountered American Indians of the Chocheno
(Costanoan) tribes. They continued north to San Pablo Bay.
Sites of Interest
A.Don
Edwards San Francisco Bay Wildlife Refuge
Anza tried to avoid the marshlands at the southern edge of
the bay. Today, the visitor center for the Wildlife Refuge
provides exhibits on the salt marsh ecosystem and its inhabitants.
It operates an Environmental Education Center in Alviso, and
has a segment of the Bay Trail.
B.Mission
San José
Founded in 1797 on Ohlone land along the historic Anza route.
The museum
includes displays about Ohlone and mission life. The grave
of Fulgencio Higuera, grandson of expedition member Ignacio
Anastacio Higuera is also here. It is located at 43300 Mission
Blvd. at Washington Blvd. in Fremont.
C. Alameda Creek
Here, thirty Chocheno natives raised an arm, extending
their hand as a sign that the soldiers should stop. Yelling
with great rapidity, they said: "Au, au, au, au, au…", and
then they halted, vigorously slapping their thighs. In a peaceful
encounter, they were given beads. Today, the Alameda
Creek Regional Trail connects Coyote Hills Regional Park
to the Bay Area Ridge Trail.
D. San Lorenzo Creek and Expedition Camp
#98
José Soberanes, who came as a guide from Monterey,
told father Font this creek was called Arroyo de la Harina
after a load of flour that got wet during the prior journey
of Pedro Fages. Anza writes, "Today in passing we have seen
six villages, whose inhabitants, not accustomed to seeing
us, fled like wild beasts. Notwithstanding this, about forty
heathen have come close to us and I have given them presents.
The last one whom we encountered discovered us about forty
paces away, and although less than five steps from where he
was there was a place where he might have hidden, such was
his terror that he lay down in his tracks…I tried to relieve
his fright and to get him to stand up, but for a long time
I was unable to succeed…I thought it best to leave the unfortunate
fellow alone." A small park and interpretive display is located
at the corner of Foothill Boulevard and City Center Drive
in Hayward commemorates this day, March
31, 1776.
E.Peralta
Hacienda Historical Park
Luis María Peralta came to California with Anza when
he was 16 years old. In 1820, the last Spanish governor gave
him a 44,800-acre land grant. He named it El Rancho de
San Antonio and divided it among his three sons. It encompassed
today's cities of Hayward, Oakland and Berkeley. In 1842,
Antonio Maria Peralta received what became the San Antonio
division on which this hacienda sits. Peralta Creek
is adjacent to the museum, and the park is open to the public.
It is located in the Fruitvale district of Oakland at 2465
34th Avenue; 37º 47' 16" N, 122º 12' 55" W).
Learning
On The Trail in Alameda County
Font's map showing the creeks
and Alameda Bosque (Forest).
Bolton
The San Carlos:
The Golden Fleece
In 1775, Viceroy Bucareli sent three ships to
explore the coast of California and to provide support
for the second Anza Expedition. One of the ships was
a 200 ton paquebote (packet boat) called the
San Carlos, and was known by its sailors as the El
Toisón de Oro. Its commander was Don Manuel
de Ayala, and his ship was to be the first European
sailing vessel to enter the San Francisco Bay. It left
San Blas (in Nayarit, Mexico) for San Francisco
in March of 1775, and entered the famous port, known
then only by land, on August 5, 1775. The ship found
safe anchorage within Hospital Cove on an island they
named La Isla de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles,
a name somewhat preserved in its name today, Angel Island.
Over the next few weeks, Ayala's pilot, Don José
Cañizáres, carefully mapped the bay using
a launch (long boat) and a cayuco (kayak/canoe),
and found the local American Indians friendly. Leaving
on September 18th, the San Carlos returned, via Monterey,
to San Blas. On March 10, 1776, ironically the day that
Anza arrived in Monterey, the San Carlos again left
for San Francisco, this time under the command of Fernando
Quirós, but with Cañizáres again
as pilot. It had many of the supplies and property of
Anza's colonists on board. It arrived in Monterey on
June 3, and many of its crew were present at the founding
ceremonies of the San Francisco Presidio, September
17. In a twist of fate and a foreshadowing of events
that made San Francisco the destination of the later
(1849) Gold Rush, El Toisón de Oro, the
name of the ship that passed through the Golden Gate,
translates to "the Golden Fleece." Both Cañizáres
and Font mapped the area we know today as Alameda, known
today for its international port.
Heard in Alameda County: Mosquitoes
and Au, Au
Font describes two sounds: One was the mosquitoes buzzing
around his head as they headed north along the East
Bay's coastline. The other was from natives they encountered
near Alameda Creek, who raised an arm, extended their
hand as a sign that the soldiers should stop, and yelled
"Au, au, au, au, au…" with great rapidity, then halted
and vigorously slapped their thighs.
Additional Resources
Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife
Refuge - P.O. Box 524, Newark, CA 94560;
tel.: 510-792-0222,
web: desfbay.fws.gov
Mission San José - 43300 Mission Blvd. at Washington
Blvd., Fremont, CA 94539;
tel.: 510-657-1979,
web: missionsanjose.org
East Bay Regional Park District - P.O. Box 5381, Oakland,
CA 94605-0381;
tel.: 510-544-2611,
web: ebparks.org
