The Three Official Pueblos

The Spanish government officially founded three pueblos, though others grew up around many of the missions in later years.

El Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe (1777)

Founded in 1777, it was the first of the official pueblos, and grew into the modern city of San José.  It was intended to provide food and support to Mission Santa Clara de Asís, Mission San Francisco de Asís and the San Francisco presidio (El Presidio Real de San Francisco).  It was founded by Lieutenant José Joaquín Moraga.  He was second-in-command of the 1776 De Anza Expedition. 

Moraga was left behind with a number of soldiers and settlers to found the Presidio in San Francisco when then expedition returned home in 1777.  He established the Pueblo in San Jose to supply the presidio.   The first alcalde (mayor) of the pueblo was José Manuel Gonzáles, who was elected in 1785 and served until 1789.

In 1797, Gonzáles built the Peralta Adobe, which is now the oldest surviving building in San José.  It is named after Luis María Peralta, its most famous resident, who became a prominent ranchero. 

In the same year, the pueblo built a new public plaza, which became the heart of the growing community.  The plaza – which was officially named  Plaza de César Chávez in 1993 – is the second oldest public space in Northern California. (It is predated by the Plaza de Los Ángeles in Southern California, which was built in 1781.)

El Pueblo de Los Ángeles (1781)

Officially named El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula, the pueblo was founded in 1781, and grew into the modern city of Los Angeles.

Forty-four settlers, known as Los Pobladores (the villagers), along with four Spanish soldiers, traveled north from Mission San Gabriel Arcángel to establish the pueblo near the Los Angeles River (then called El Río Porciúncula). These settlers were a diverse group: Spanish, Indigenous, African, and mestizo (mixed heritage) people from what is now Mexico.

The pueblo was laid out in the traditional Spanish colonial grid pattern, with a central plaza (the Plaza de Los Ángeles) surrounded by key buildings — the church, government offices, and homes. It quickly became the agricultural and civic heart of the region, supporting nearby missions and presidios.

Villa de Branciforte (1797)

The least successful of the official pueblos.  It was founded in 1797, and struggled to survive.  Unlike other pueblos, Branciforte’s original residents were mostly released convicts and ex-soldiers from Mexico — people offered land and supplies to start anew. The settlers received plots of land (suertes), livestock, and tools. However, due to their background and limited agricultural experience, the community struggled to thrive.

Relations with the nearby mission at Santa Cruz were often tense; missionaries viewed the Branciforteños as disruptive or immoral.

The pueblo was eventually absorbed into the expanding settlement of Santa Cruz.

Governance of the Pueblos

Settlers were often mestizos — people of mixed Spanish and Indian heritage — and included farmers and craftsmen.  They were given individual plots of land, or suertes, as well as access to communal lands, ejidos, which were usually used for grazing livestock.  Acequias, or irrigation canals, were created to bring water to crops.

The pueblos were laid out following a standard plan.  There was a central plaza, which would be surrounded by important buildings, including a cabildo (town hall), a courthouse and magistrate’s office, and a church.  Streets formed a rectangular grid radiating outward from the plaza.  Buildings were typically built with adobe, though important buildings may have been constructed with stone.

The residents of the pueblo elected a cabildo, or town council, and an alcalde, or mayor.  Unlike the missions and presidios, the pueblos were intended to be self-governing, with little oversight by Spanish authorities.