History of San Diego, California

The Kumeyaay people lived in the San Diego area before the arrival of Juan Rodrigues Cabrillo, who sailed his flagship the San Salvador from Navidad, New Spain. He claimed the bay for the Spanish Empire and named it San Miguel. In 1602, Sebastian Vizcaino was sent on the flagship San Diego to map the area. Named for Catholic Saint Didacus, the area followed the common name, San Diego. In that same year, one of Vizcaino's expedition members, Fray Antonio de la Ascension, conducted the first religious service on record in Alta California. By the late 1700s, San Diego's mission had over a thousand neophytes, but by the beginning half of the 1800s, with secularization decrees enacted in 1823, the missions in San Diego lost fortunes as well as members. Turning the page, by 1850, San Diego County was incorporated after the end of the Mexican-American War and the gold rush of 1848. At the end of the 1800s through the 1950s, the US military had a major presence, which served the economy and overall design of the city. Eventually, the architecture which fell to disrepair was restored. Ever since, San Diego has developed into a highly populated and affluent city. As of 2006, 1,256,951 people reside in San Diego, California.