-
Native Americans of the San Francisco Bay Area: The Ohlone Tribe, Part 1
The Ohlone people occupied the San Francisco and Monterey Bay regions for thousands of years. Part 1 of a 2-part series. In…
-
Settlers on the California Frontier (Part 1)
Who settled California? What was their life like? What were the first towns?
-
Soldiers and Presidios in Alta California (with video)
Who were the soldiers that came to Alta California? What was their life like? What were the presidios, and what was their…
-
Podcast Episode 002 — “You Have to Carry This On”: What it Means to Be a Californio
In this episode, I speak with Greg Bernal-Mendoza Smestad, a direct descendant of the families who settled Alta California over 200 years…
-
Beyond Clichés
Recently I began recording a series of interviews for a new podcast I will be launching as part of California Frontier.…
-
Saving Our Stories
A few nights ago I attended a community meeting aimed at designating my county as a National Heritage Area. Throughout the United…
-
Exploration and Settlement of California (Part 2 of 2)
For most of the 17th and 18th centuries, Spanish ships dominated the Pacific. But her rivals Russia and England were busy contesting…
