San Diego History Trail
From the founding of California's first mission to America's largest naval base — trace 250 years of history through the neighborhoods where it still stands.
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San Diego's history caught me off guard. I came for the beaches and the weather — everyone does — but then I started walking around Old Town, reading the plaques at the Presidio, standing on the flight deck of the Midway, and I realized this city has more layers than almost anywhere in California. Spanish missions, Mexican ranchos, a pivotal battle in the Mexican-American War, the birth of naval aviation, and the cultural transformations of the modern era — it's all here, woven into the neighborhoods. This timeline traces the places where San Diego's story is still visible and still worth understanding.
— Scott
250 Years in America's Finest City
From the adobe walls of California's first mission to the flight deck of the USS Midway — San Diego's history spans Spanish colonization, Mexican independence, American expansion, military dominance, and modern reinvention. These are the places where that history is still visible.
First Overland Expedition to San Diego
San Diego Region
Captain Juan Bautista de Anza led the first overland expedition from Sonora, Mexico to San Diego, establishing an inland route that would bring hundreds of settlers to Alta California. The trail opened a land corridor that reduced dependence on vulnerable sea supply lines.
Mexico Gains Independence from Spain
San Diego Region
After eleven years of revolution, Mexico won independence from Spain, and San Diego became part of the new Mexican republic. The mission system began to decline as the Mexican government secularized church lands and distributed them as ranchos to private owners — reshaping the landscape of Southern California.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
San Diego Region
The treaty ending the Mexican-American War ceded California and the Southwest to the United States. San Diego — a small pueblo of fewer than 800 people — became American territory. The transition brought new laws, new settlers, and the beginning of San Diego's transformation from a remote outpost into an American city.
Pearl Harbor & San Diego's Military Buildup
San Diego Region
The attack on Pearl Harbor transformed San Diego overnight into the command center of the Pacific war effort. The population exploded as hundreds of thousands of sailors, Marines, and defense workers poured in. Consolidated Aircraft (later Convair) employed 45,000 people building B-24 bombers. San Diego would never be a small city again.
Japanese American Internment
San Diego Region
Following Executive Order 9066, San Diego's Japanese American community — fishermen, farmers, and business owners who had lived here for decades — were forcibly relocated to internment camps. Over 2,000 San Diegans of Japanese descent were sent to camps at Poston, Arizona and other locations. Their homes, businesses, and fishing boats were confiscated or sold at a fraction of their value.
San Diego Today — America's Finest City
All Neighborhoods
From the adobe walls of Old Town to the flight deck of the USS Midway, from the bell tower of California's first mission to the rooftop bars of the Gaslamp Quarter — San Diego's history lives in its neighborhoods. A city shaped by Spanish padres, Mexican rancheros, Navy admirals, and surfers. The layers are everywhere if you know where to look.
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The Presidio Hill site in Old Town is where San Diego began on July 16, 1769, when Father Junípero Serra founded Mission San Diego de Alcalá — the first of California's 21 Spanish missions. The Junípero Serra Museum now stands on the hill. The mission itself was relocated to Mission Valley in 1774 and has been restored with its original bell tower, gardens, and museum. Both sites are open to visitors.
San Diego has some of the best military history sites on the West Coast. The USS Midway Museum downtown is the city's most-visited museum. Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery and the Cabrillo National Monument on Point Loma offer stunning views and history. The Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum at MCAS Miramar has historic aircraft. The Veterans Museum in Balboa Park covers all branches and conflicts.
On December 6, 1846, during the Mexican-American War, US Army dragoons led by General Stephen Kearny fought Californio lanceros under Andrés Pico in the hills near present-day Escondido. The Californios won a tactical victory, killing 22 Americans in one of the bloodiest battles fought on California soil. The San Pasqual Battlefield State Historic Park preserves the site with trails, monuments, and a visitor center.
San Diego has been a military hub since the Navy established its base here in 1917. The protected natural harbor, year-round flying weather, and strategic Pacific location made it ideal for naval operations. By WWII, the city was the command center of the Pacific war effort. Today, San Diego is home to the largest naval fleet in the world, Marine Corps bases, Coast Guard stations, and major defense contractors. An estimated 25% of the regional economy is tied to the military.
Balboa Park itself is a living history lesson. The 1915 Panama-California Exposition buildings along El Prado — including the iconic California Building tower — are Spanish Colonial Revival masterpieces. The 1935 California Pacific Exposition added the Old Globe Theatre and Spanish Village Art Center. The San Diego History Center, the Museum of Us (formerly Museum of Man), and the Veterans Museum all cover different aspects of the city's past. The Spreckels Organ Pavilion hosts free concerts on the world's largest outdoor pipe organ.
San Diego's growth came in waves. Alonzo Horton's development of 'New Town' in 1868 moved the city center to the bayfront. The 1915 exposition put San Diego on the map. But the real transformation came with WWII — the military buildup brought hundreds of thousands of people and the population never went back down. The postwar decades saw suburban expansion, the opening of SeaWorld and the San Diego Zoo's growth, the Coronado Bridge, and the biotech boom of the 1990s-2000s that diversified the economy beyond military and tourism.