Stop 12: Juan Bautista de Anza

The 1200-mile trail from the Anza expedition.

NPS

Transcript for the John Muir NHS Cell Phone Tour

Stop Number 12

It was between 1775 and 1776 that 240 colonists, soldiers, and others packed up their lives and began an astounding journey of 1200 miles. Led by Lt. Colonel Juan Bautista de Anza, the expedition began from present-day Sonora, Mexico, to the area of what the Spanish then called “Alta California”.  

The goal of Anza’s expedition was to establish an overland route for further settlement of the region. While we know it as California, today, it was then the northern frontier of the Spanish empire. When they reached their final destination of San Francisco, they would work to establish a mission for personal religious purposes, to evangelize the local people, as well as build a military fort, also known as a presidio. 

The colonists of the Anza Expedition were a multiethnic group of families of mixed Native American, African, and European ancestry. Their collective experiences and cultures established a wonderful foundation for the thriving mixed heritage that the San Francisco Bay Area is known for, today. 

The official handwritten records from the expedition have provided a connection to many of the family groups who participated. However, the names of horsemen, carpenters, blacksmiths, muleteers, cowboys, Indian guides, and servants who were essential members of the journey, were not included.  

When the Anza expedition arrived in the bay area, they discovered that the lands were inhabited by the Native American Ohlone peoples. Over time, the colonialist displaced the Ohlone through cultural clashes and forced missionization. By the turn of the century the impact of colonialism had forever changed both the environment and the first peoples of this land.  

The early 1800’s marked the change of San Francisco, and the rest of Alta California, which were no longer under Spanish rule and had become a part of the newly independent Mexico.   

The original families of the expedition and their descendants, known as Californios, continued to navigate the changing political landscape, and dispersed throughout Alta California to settle new regions.   Manuel Ramírez de Arellano, who had brought his family from Sonora on the Anza Expedition, moved to Los Angeles with his wife and 4 children after retiring from the military.   

In 1797, he became the alcalde, or mayor, of Los Angeles. His daughter, María Martina Arellano, married a cadet stationed at the Presidio of Santa Barbara named Lieutenant Don Ignacio Martínez, who would eventually become one of the most prominent figures in San Francisco during his life.  

Over the course of their marriage, Lt. Don Ignacio Martínez and María Martina Arellano would move from Santa Barbara to San Diego to San Francisco and have 11 children along the way. By 1823, Don Ignacio, now the Comandante of the San Francisco Presidio, was granted over 17,000 acres of land that would become Rancho Pinole, and included the property where John Muir’s home sits today. María and Ignacio’s son, Vicente, built the adobe home in 1849 where he resided with his wife. To this day the city of Martinez continues to carry the name of the family and the Martinez Adobe is considered one of the oldest standing two-story adobe structures.  

Vicente Martinez eventually sold off portions of land, including the adobe house, to Edward Franklin who, in 1875, sold the property to Dr. John T. Strentzel. The adobe was used as a headquarters and storage for the ranch. A Victorian-style home was built by Dr. Strentzel, which would eventually become the home of his daughter Louisa Strentzel and son-in-law, John Muir. The Muir’s daughter, Wanda, moved into the adobe in 1907, with her husband, and raised her three children there. Today, the Martinez Adobe stands as a bridge through centuries to the early Spanish colonial era ushered in by those on the Anza Expedition.