In late October 1775, a large expedition commanded by Juan Bautista
de Anza, a Lieutenant–Colonel in the Royal Spanish cavalry
and Commander of the Tubac Presidio, traveled northward along the
Santa Cruz River Valley, on its way to establish and colonize a Presidio
at San Francisco, California. The Expedition consisted of Anza, 3
Franciscan priests and their servants, a commissary, a lieutenant,
a sergeant, 28 soldiers, the wives of the sergeant and soldiers,
136 colonists (men, women, and children), 20 muleteers, 3 vaqueros
(cowboys), and three Indian interpreters. In addition, there were
695 horses and mules, and 355 beef cattle. There were no wheeled
conveyances of any kind. Everyone either walked or rode horses or
mules on their five-month journey to San Francisco.
This web site concentrates on the segment of the expedition that
is within the boundaries of present day Pima County.
