Tag Archives: Yerba Buena

Filling Yerba Buena Cove

Posted on November 27, 2011 by John Putnam

At the time of statehood San Francisco had about twenty-five thousand people. Growth, mostly due to the gold rush, had been phenomenal. The tents and shanties from 1848-49 were gone from the business section of town and many of the … Continue reading →

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Gold rush San Francisco

Posted on May 7, 2011 by John Putnam

In 1833 a half dozen sailboats plied the Pacific coast, trading in otter and beaver pelts, tallow and hides. The Mexican Presidio near the entrance to San Francisco Bay had 250 soldiers led by Captain Mariano Vallejo. The first building … Continue reading →

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San Francisco’s buried gold rush ships

Posted on April 22, 2011 by John Putnam

In 1847 William W. Clark built a small wharf near Battery and Broadway as this was the best spot for boats to land in Yerba Buena Cove. Then in early 1848 the Central Wharf, or long wharf, was built between … Continue reading →

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Bronze Spanish cannon guard San Francisco

Posted on April 21, 2011 by John Putnam

Battery Street, running from Pier 29 at the Embarcadero, across Broadway, past the Embarcadero Center to Market Street, is now a major artery in San Francisco’s bustling Financial District, but once it was an integral part of the waterfront of … Continue reading →

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The first American flag flies in California

Posted on April 18, 2011 by John Putnam

John Drake Sloat was born in Sloatsburg, New York on July 6, 1781 two months after a British soldier killed his father. When his mother died soon after his grandparents raised him. A midshipman in the navy by 1800, he … Continue reading →

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How San Francisco got its name

Posted on April 18, 2011 by John Putnam

Early in 1845 the sloop USS Portsmouth braved the turbulent waters at the tip of South America and headed north up the west coast. Captain John B. Montgomery was under orders to patrol off the San Francisco Bay as part … Continue reading →

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The man who told the world about California’s gold

Posted on April 16, 2011 by John Putnam

Brannan Street, running from Embarcadero below Bryant Street and parallel to the Bay Bridge approach, is in a working class San Francisco south of Market area, not at all fitting for a location named for an elder in the Mormon … Continue reading →

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