Standing upon a hill, the San Diego Presidio overlooks the Pacific Ocean. The Mission Church is at center top.  The Presidio entrance is at the far right between the two buildings, where three guns were mounted on carriages.

The total Presidio population in 1796 was 180, half of them soldiers. 25 of these soldiers were brought from Spain that year due to mounting tensions with England.

The Presidio was heavily damaged by earthquakes in 1800 and 1801. Water from above seeped down and  ate away at the walls. The wind kept knocking down the front wall.

On the left are a row of buildings that housed the soldiers and their families. These buildings were described in 1793 by Vancouver as "wretched hovels". Here the youngest child of soldier Juan Francisco Lopez, Maria Ygnacia, was born on 31 Jan 1793.

Supply ships from Mexico brought food and supplies only once a year. 

Men hunted and fished while women and children tended gardens. The Presidio cattle sometimes had to be pastured 20-30 miles away. At times they had to rely on Mission San Juan Capistrano for grain, fruits, and vegetables. Corn was the main staple. Food was cooked over open fires and in horno ovens.

Presidio life

This photo was taken looking toward the ocean. The remains of the Presidio Church lie beneath the mound on the left.

An archeological dig revealed the coffins of Josefa Carrillo's husband, Henry D. Fitch, and their young daughter, Natalia, buried in the Church (after the walls had fallen) in 1849.

1990