Patriotic Landmarks of California

What patriotic landmarks can be found in California?

Group of children enveloped under American flag

California has many patriotic landmarks. The famous Mission San Diego de Alcala in San Diego is one such landmark. Spanish missions hold an important place in American history.

Watch this video to learn more about the mission in San Diego.

We are at Mission San Diego de Alcala. It is the second site where the mission was established. It was the first mission to be founded by Father Junipero Serra, the first of nine that he personally founded. And the first of 21 that were founded by the Franciscan padres. It is basically, the seeds of what is now the state of California.

And the padres came here originally with the intention of evangelizing the Indians. When Father Serra came to California, July 1, 1769, he was part of a strategy of the King of Spain to colonize the Californias. Father Serra had in mind, in his objective in coming to the Californias, as Father Presidente or Father President of all the Franciscans was to evangelize the Indians.

Of course, the formula worked pretty good for Spain because as the padres converted the Indians, the Indians became subjects of the crown of Spain. Therefore, it was baptism and citizenship, even though the Padres didn't intend that. The government of Spain was very happy to make that assessment and take the benefits of that. And that's basically, what happened when the Padres got here.

San Diego de Alcala is east of downtown San Diego, a few miles. And is the second location for the mission. The first was on Presidio Hill on the coast overlooking the bay. It was the birthplace of Christianity on the West Coast of the United States and continues as an active parish church. The structures have gone through several transitions over the years. This is the fifth church built on the site. The original was destroyed in an Indian attack in 1775.

In 1812, the fourth church here was under construction. Unlike many of the other missions, it survived that earthquake.

During secularization, when Mexico gained independence from Spain, the properties were sold off, but returned to the church by a proclamation by Abraham Lincoln in May of 1862. By that time, the property was in shambles, with very little left of the earlier church. It was rebuilt in 1931, modeled on what the architects believed was the 1813 church.

Transcript

Print an image of the Mission San Diego de Alcala and paste it into your scrapbook. Or draw and color a picture of the mission. Write a caption under the picture that includes this information: name of the landmark, city of location, and the year it was founded.

Mission San Diego de Alcala photograph with tape holding it up.

Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park photograph with tape holding it up.

Another famous patriotic landmark in California is the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park, which commemorates the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill in 1848. Watch this video to hear how early pioneers started the California Gold Rush.

SETTLERS HEADED WEST TO LOOK FOR GOLD. GOLD WAS DISCOVERED AT SUTTER'S MILL IN CALIFORNIA IN 1848, AND THE WORD SPREAD LIKE WILDFIRE. PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE U.S. AND OTHER COUNTRIES MADE THEIR WAY OUT WEST TO SEARCH FOR RICHES. LESS THAN A YEAR LATER, AFTER THE SUTTER'S MILL GOLD DISCOVERY, 30,000 GOLD SEEKERS FLOODED INTO CALIFORNIA. THESE GOLD SEEKERS WERE KNOWN AS "FORTY-NINERS" BECAUSE THEY ARRIVED TO SEEK THEIR FORTUNES IN 1849. MOST FORTY-NINERS CAME BY THE WAY OF THE OREGON-CALIFORNIA TRAIL, BUT SOME TRAVELED BY SHIP AROUND CAPE HORN AT THE TIP OF SOUTH AMERICA. GOLD WAS ALSO DISCOVERED AT PIKE'S PEAK, COLORADO, ALONG MONTANA'S YELLOWSTONE RIVER, AND IN THE MOUNTAINS OF ALASKA, IDAHO, AND SOUTH DAKOTA.

Transcript

Print an image of the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park and paste it into your scrapbook. Or you can draw and color a picture of it. Write a caption under the picture that includes this information: name of the landmark, location, and date of the discovery of gold.

Old Customhouse photograph with tape holding it up.

The Old Customhouse, which is in Monterey, was built around 1827 by the Mexican government. It was used to collect taxes at the Monterey Bay Port. However, on July 2, 1846, an American flag was raised here. John Drake Sloat declared California a part of the United states during the Mexican-American War. Thus, the Old Customhouse is the first historic California landmark.

Print an image of the Old Customhouse and paste it into your scrapbook. Or you can draw and color a picture of it. Write a caption under the picture that includes this information: name of the landmark, city of location, and the year the U.S. flag was raised there.

B.F. Hastings Bank Building photograph with tape holding it up.

The B. F. Hastings Bank Building is in Sacramento, California. It was built in 1852 and was the western ending point for the Pony Express. It is part of the Old Sacramento State Historic Park, also known as "Old Sac." This building now has a museum in it and is in a National Historic Landmark District.

Print an image of the B. F. Hastings Bank Building and paste it into your scrapbook. Or you can draw and color a picture of it. Write a caption under the picture that includes this information: name of the landmark, city of location, and year it was built.

Now your scrapbook pages are complete. There are many other patriotic landmarks in California if you'd like to add any pages in the future.