The California Frontier Project

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“The Americanos Played for Keeps”

By Damian Bacich

The Battle of San Pascual

In his memoirs about life in rancho era California, José Jesús López describes how his father joined the “California Army.”

Filed Under: Hispanic Heritage Tagged With: Californios, Daily Lives (Standard 5), Los Angeles, Pio Pico, Primary Sources

Bad for the Lungs but Wonderful for Memories

By Damian Bacich

If doors and windows were primitive in Californio homes, you can also imagine that furniture was not much better.

Filed Under: Hispanic Heritage Tagged With: Californios, Daily Lives (Standard 5), Los Angeles, Primary Sources

Tar Roofs and Whale Intestine Windows

By Damian Bacich

José Jesús López grew up in the Pueblo of Los Angeles in the 1850s, in the neighborhood of *El Paredón Blanco* (today’s Boyle Heights).

Filed Under: Hispanic Heritage Tagged With: Californios, Daily Lives (Standard 5), Los Angeles, Primary Sources, Rancho Era, Ranchos

Origins of Mexican Independence Part 3: Breaking Away

By Damian Bacich

With a foreign occupier in control of Spain, and the royal family in exile in France, people in the Spanish territories in the Americas found themselves at a crossroads.

Filed Under: Mexican War for Independence Tagged With: Agustín Iturbide, Californios, Hipólito Bouchard, Juana Machado, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Plan of Iguala, Virgin of Guadalupe

The Castro Adobe: A Californio Landmark Restored

By Damian Bacich

The Castro Adobe: A Californio Landmark Restored

If you want to see a precious California landmark in the process of being saved for future generations, mark your calendar to visit the Joaquín Castro Adobe near Watsonville.

Filed Under: Californios, Daily Lives, Field Trips Tagged With: Adobes, Californios, Castro Adobe, Santa Cruz County, Watsonville

Settlers on the California Frontier (Part 2): The Californios

By Damian Bacich

What type of culture developed among settlers in Alta California? What did they call themselves? How did they live under Mexico and Spain? And how did they respond to American rule?

Filed Under: Californios, Daily Lives, European Settlements, Mexican Rule, Mexican War for Independence, Spanish Exploration and Colonization Tagged With: Californios, Daily Lives (Standard 5), U.S.-Mexico War

Settlers on the California Frontier (Part 1)

By Damian Bacich

Who settled California? What was their life like? What were the first towns?

Filed Under: Californios, Daily Lives, European Settlements, Spanish Exploration and Colonization Tagged With: Anza, Branciforte, Californios, Daily lives, Frontier, Hijar-Padrés, King Carlos III, Los Angeles, Pueblos, San Francisco

Researching the Early Days: The Sylveria Pacheco Project, Part 2

By Damian Bacich

An update on an ongoing research project into the life of a Hispanic woman on the California frontier. In May, I told you about my research into the life of Sylveria Pacheco, a Californiana who had lived through Spanish, Mexican and American periods. I came across Sylveria as I was working on another project, and […]

Filed Under: Californios Tagged With: Californios, Pacheco

Podcast Episode 002 — “You Have to Carry This On”: What it Means to Be a Californio

By Damian Bacich

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 ago.  Greg talks to us about their journey, the character of those people who risked their lives to come to come north, and the legacy they passed on.

Filed Under: Daily Lives, European Settlements, Podcast Episodes, Spanish Exploration and Colonization Tagged With: Anza, Bay Area, Californios, genealogy, living history, National Park Service, San José

Beyond Clichés

By Damian Bacich

  Recently I began recording a series of interviews for a new podcast I will be launching as part of California Frontier. For one of the first interviews, I had the pleasure of visiting Greg Bernal Smestad. Greg has made it his mission to preserve and maintain the heritage his ancestors, who came to California […]

Filed Under: European Settlements, Spanish Exploration and Colonization Tagged With: Anza, Californios, Virgin of Guadalupe

Happy Birthday San José

By Damian Bacich

The Pueblo of San José, founded in 1777.

San José, California is the oldest city on the West Coast. In November it celebrates its birthday.

Filed Under: European Settlements, Field Trips, Spanish Exploration and Colonization Tagged With: Californios, San José

I’m Dr. Damian Bacich, and I started the California Frontier Project. Learn more about me and the project here.

Teaching Materials for the Whole Year

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