Prior to the Spanish arrival in 1769, the land of San Carlos was occupied by a group of Native Americans who called themselves the Lamchins. While they considered themselves to have a separate identity from other local tribes, modern scholars consider them to be a part of the Ohlone or Costanoan tribes that inhabited the Bay Area.
The Lamchins referred to the area of their primary residence - probably on the north bank of Pulgas creek - as "Cachanihtac", which included their word for vermin. When the Spanish arrived, they translated this as "the fleas", or "las Pulgas", giving many places and roads their modern names.
The Native American life was one of traditional hunting and gathering. There was plentiful game and fowl available, and fish could be caught in the San Francisco Bay. There were also grasses, plants and oak trees (for acorns), and archaeological finds of mortars and pestles indicates that these source were processed for food. No doubt they also participated in the regional trading networks for goods that could not be gathered or grown locally.
The Lamchin permanent village is thought to have been between the modern streets of Alameda de las Pulgas and Cordilleras Avenue, near San Carlos Avenue.
Spanish
In 1769, Gaspar de Portol� was the first westerner to reach the San Francisco Bay. While early historians placed his approach to the Bay from the Pacific Ocean as coming over the San Carlos hills, present researchers believe this "discovery" actually occurred in present day Belmont.
The Spanish, with overwhelming military and economic advantages over the native population, quickly dominated the Bay Area. A mission was established in San Francisco, and land was deeded in large "ranchos", or ranches, to prominent and wealthy Spaniards, with no concern for the native populations that lived on them.
The new ranch owners raised cattle on the lands, displacing the native game populations and disrupting
