Prior to the coming of Europeans, San Angelo was the center of the Jumano
people. The area had been inhabited for thousands of years by succeeding
cultures of indigenous peoples. In 1632, a short-lived mission of Franciscans
under Spanish auspices was founded in the area to serve the Indians. The
mission was led by the friars Juan de Salas and Juan de Ortega, with Ortega
remaining for six months. The area was visited by the Castillo-Martin
expedition of 1650 and the Diego de Guadalajara expedition of 1654.
The current city of San Angelo was founded by European Americans in 1867,
when the United States
