Because San Diego was the site of California’s first permanent Spanish settlement, it is often called the birthplace of California. In 1769 Father Junípero Serra founded the first of a chain of 21 missions that ultimately stretched from San Diego to Sonoma.
The mission and presidio were constructed on a hillside overlooking what is now Old Town San Diego. In the 1820s a small Mexican community formed on the land below the mission. By 1835 it was known as El Pueblo de San Diego, and in 1846 an American flag was raised over the town.
In 1969 San Diego Old Town State Historic Park was created to preserve the area’s heritage from 1821 to 1872. The park features historic buildings, including San Diego’s first one-room schoolhouse, a main plaza, museums, living-history demonstrations, and numerous restaurants and shops offering traditional Mexican clothing, hats, and souvenirs.
Just up the hill from Old Town is Heritage Park, where several Victorian houses have been moved and carefully restored. Among them is the Whaley House, which some regard as one of the most haunted houses in the United States.