San Francisco
San Francisco city and county occupy the same land area at the end of the San Francisco peninsula (Figure 27.1). The land area is about 47 square miles with a population of approximately 800,000 people, which is the most densely populated city in California (SF Genealogy 2014). San Francisco was founded in 1776 by the Spanish, who set up a fort and a mission named for Saint Francis of Assisi. The Spanish name for the city was Yerba Buena. At the start of the Mexican American war, Commodore John Sloat sailed into Monterey Bay to claim California for the United States, and Captain John Montgomery arrived in San Francisco a few days later. The city was given the name San Francisco at this time. Sloat and Mont gomery are the names of major streets in San Francisco. The gold rush of 1849 caused a population surge, and California was admitted as a state (San Francisco 2014). The wealth of the gold rush created other business opportunities. Wells Fargo and the Bank of America created a banking industry, Levi Strauss sold dry goods, and Ghirardelli started making chocolate. By 1890, the population was 300,000, and the city was known for its open attitudes, for the arts, and for wealth displayed by large houses (SF Genealogy 2014).
FIGURE 27.1 San Francisco is surrounded on three sides by the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay.
Source: Wikimedia, San Francisco. Public Domain. Photo by Paul.h. 2006.
