Prior to European settlement, the area was inhabited by
several groups of Ohlone Native Americans. The first lasting European presence
began with a series of Franciscan missions established from 1769 by Father
Junípero Serra. On orders from Antonio María de Bucareli y Ursúa, Spanish
Viceroy of New Spain, San Jose was founded by Lieutenant José Joaquín Moraga as
Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe
(in honor of Saint Joseph) on November 29, 1777, to establish a farming
community. The town was the first civil settlement in Alta California.
