On October 23, 1775, some 240 men, women and children left Tubac, Sonora to follow Juan Bautista de Anza in an effort to forge an overland route to the San Francisco bay and establish a settlement there. The journey was arduous. It took nearly five months to travel the 1,210 miles some on horseback, some on foot. These families became the first colonists of the San Francisco Bay Area.
The Fremont Main Library is hosting a special exhibit from the National Park Service about the Anza Expedition and the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail.
The exhibit, located on the second floor of the library next to the Maurice Marks Center for Local and California History, commemorates the story of the 1775-1776 Spanish Expedition whose members, consisting of some 30 families, made the trek from Sonora to Alta California. They founded and established the Mission and Presidio of San Francisco, the Mission in Santa Clara and the Pueblo of San José. Most settled in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The exhibit also features the Galindo-Higuera Adobe, a local landmark along the trail with ties to the Anza Expedition. Artifacts, photographs and a slide-show courtesy of the Museum of Local History round out the display.
The Washington Township Historical Society was instrumental in bringing this special exhibit to Fremont. The exhibit opened on July 25th with a presentation by NPS Ranger Steven Ross and will be available to view through September 15.
Read more about it: The Anza Trail – Tri-City Voice July 22, 2011
Web de Anza – primary source documents and multimedia resources
and Books from the library collection several of these are housed next to the display and are available for check-out.
Stop by next time you visit the library!