San Mateo County, California Points of Interest

Built in May 1867, this is the oldest church building on its original site within the San Mateo-Santa Clara County region. Its Classical Revival style... [click for more]

Here stood the Hospice built around 1800 by the Spanish Padres on El Camino Real to break the journey from Santa Clara and serve the Indians of Missio... [click for more]

The name of this cemetery, established before the first shots were fired at Fort Sumter, reflects the controversy that brought on the Civil War. On Ma... [click for more]

Twentieth Century Folk Art Environments (thematic historical marker). Charles Kasling began sculpturing near Andrade in 1967, and his creations now fi... [click for more]

This brick lighthouse was built to incorporate a French first order Fresnel lens. Although no longer used, the lens is still operable in the lantern r... [click for more]

This is the home of Francisco Sánchez (1805-1862), alcalde of San Francisco and commandante of militia under the Mexican Republic, grantee of t... [click for more]

Here on the banks of San Mateo Creek Captain J. B. de Anza camped March 29, 1776, after exploring the peninsula and selecting the sites for the Missio... [click for more]

The Anza Expedition of 1776, on its way up the peninsula to locate sites for the Presidio and Mission of San Francisco, camped here on March 26 at a d... [click for more]

In the early morning of September 13, 1859, U.S. Senator David C. Broderick and Chief Justice David S. Terry of the California Supreme Court fought th... [click for more]

This first permanent building in the Mission Revival style of architecture opened for service on October 10, 1894. Designed by George H. Howard and J.... [click for more]

Harriet Pullman Carolan, heiress to the Pullman railroad car company fortune, constructed this lavish mini-palace in 1915-16, the focal point of a ful... [click for more]

This structure, built by Felix Buelna in the 1850s, served as a gambling retreat and meeting place for Mexican-Californios. It was strategically locat... [click for more]

Filoli, built as the home of mining entrepreneur William B. Bourn II, was the last great residential commission of one of California's most important ... [click for more]

This building, constructed in 1867 by the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad Company, is the oldest railroad passenger station in California. The Vic... [click for more]

In the winter of 1861-62, John L. Sears settled in the mountains 17 miles from Redwood City. He named the place La Honda and built a store that was so... [click for more]

This country church, built in 1912, was the first design of architect Timothy L. Pflueger to be executed. Pflueger, who had just begun work for James ... [click for more]

The Portolá Expedition of 1769 camped on the south bank of Purisima Creek on October 27. The Indian village on the north bank of the creek was ... [click for more]

The Portolá Expedition of 1769 camped October 23 near the mouth of Gazos Creek.... [click for more]

The Portolá Expedition of 1769 camped near the San Pedro Creek, where there was an Indian village, from October 31 to November 3. To that camp ... [click for more]

The Portolá Expedition of 1769 camped October 30 on a stream at the foot of Montara Mountain, which now blocked their way. Needing food badly, ... [click for more]

On October 24, the Portolá Expedition camped at an Indian rancheria on San Gregorio Creek, about one-half league from its mouth. Tired and sick... [click for more]

The Portolá Expedition of 1769 camped near a lagoon now covered by San Andreas Lake on November 4. They camped here a second time on November 1... [click for more]

The Portolá Expedition of 1769 camped close to the mouth of Pilarcitos Creek on October 28 and 29. Portolá himself was very ill. ... [click for more]

The Portolá Expedition of 1769 camped on November 5 at a 'laguna grande' which today is covered by the Upper Crystal Springs Lake. ... [click for more]

On November 11, the Portolá Expedition of 1769 traveled two leagues, about 5.26 miles, to a point in the lower Cañada de Reymundo, and made the... [click for more]

In 1769 the Portolá expedition of 63 men and 200 horses and mules camped near El Palo Alto, the tall tree. They had traveled from San Diego in ... [click for more]

This redwood structure was completed in 1868 by William Chapman Ralston, San Francisco financier. Incorporating Count Cipriani's earlier villa, this e... [click for more]

About 300 feet south of this monument, on the banks of the Alambique Creek, stood San Mateo County's first sawmill, built by Charles Brown in 1847. Ab... [click for more]

On October 31,1769, Captain Gaspar de Portolá was camped by the creek at the south of this valley when scouting parties brought news of a body ... [click for more]

Here stood the lumbermen's village of Searsville whose first settler, John Sears, arrived in 1854. Across the road, west of this monument, stood a hot... [click for more]

Beginning in the 1850s, the Steele brothers pioneered one of the first large-scale commercial cheese and dairy businesses in California. They extended... [click for more]

The temporary detention camps (also known as 'assembly centers') represent the first phase of the mass incarceration of 97,785 Californians of Japanes... [click for more]

The Portolá Expedition of 1769 discovered this Indian village on Tunitas Creek, in the southwest corner of Rancho Cañada de Verde y Arroyo de l... [click for more]

Built in 1854 among sawmills and redwood groves by Dr. R. O. Tripp and M. A. Parkhurst, the store was operated by Dr. Tripp (who also served as dentis... [click for more]