El Camino Real | |
|---|---|
| The Royal Road | |
.jpg) East entrance ofSan Gabriel Mission with an El Camino Real bell | |
| Historical route | |
| South end | Mission San Diego de Alcalá inSan Diego |
| North end | Mission San Francisco Solano inSonoma |
| Modern official designation | |
| South end |  I-5 at theMexican border[1] in San Diego |
| North end |  SR 12 in Sonoma |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| Counties | Main route:San Diego,Orange,Los Angeles,Ventura,Santa Barbara,San Luis Obispo,Monterey,San Benito,Santa Clara,San Mateo,San Francisco,Marin,Sonoma East Bay route:Santa Clara,Alameda,Contra Costa |
| Highway system | |
| Reference no. | 784[2][3] |
El Camino Real (Spanish; literallyThe Royal Road, sometimes translated asThe King's Highway) is a 600-mile (965-kilometer) commemorative route connecting the 21Spanish missions in California (formerly the regionAlta California in theSpanish Empire) fromMission San Diego de Alcalá inSan Diego toMission San Francisco Solano inSonoma, along with a number of sub-missions, fourpresidios, and threepueblos. The route is historically associated with a network of royal roads (caminos reales) used by inhabitants ofNew Spain. The modern commemorative route in the U.S. state of California is named after these roads, and is officially defined in theCalifornia Streets and Highways Code to run along various roads fromInterstate 5 at theMexican border toState Route 12 in Sonoma.[1]
During the period of Spanish rule, there was no single road constructed by the Spanish to connect the missions, with most of the network of royal roads following historic Native American trading routes. These variouscaminos reales covered much of what is today California, but with no single special route designated to link the missions. The name was revived in theAmerican era in connection with theboosterism associated with theMission Revival movement of the early 20th century. Streets throughout California bear the "El Camino Real" name. The route has been continually upgraded and is decorated with commemorative bell markers.
In earlier Spanish colonial times, any road under the direct jurisdiction of the Spanish crown and its viceroys was considered to be acamino real. Examples of such roads ran between principal settlements throughoutSpain and its colonies such asNew Spain.[4] Mostcaminos reales had names apart from the appendedcamino real. Missions were present inLas Californias for decades before the establishment of any missions in what is today the U.S. state of California, with variousSpanish missions established in present-day Baja California,Mexico, starting in 1697 with theMisión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto Conchó in present-dayLoreto.[5]
ThePortolá expedition of 1769 included Franciscan missionaries, led byJunípero Serra. Starting from Loreto, Serra established the first ofthe 21 missions atSan Diego. Serra stayed at San Diego andJuan Crespí continued the rest of the way withGaspar de Portolá. Proceeding north, Portolá followed thecoastline (today's California State Route 1), except where forced inland by coastal cliffs.
Eventually, the expedition was prevented from going farther north by the entrance toSan Francisco Bay, theGolden Gate. Crespí identified several future mission sites which were not developed until later. On the return trip to San Diego,Gaspar de Portolá found a shorter detour around one stretch of coastal cliffs viaConejo Valley.[citation needed]
Portolá journeyed again from San Diego toMonterey in 1770, where Junipero Serra (who traveled by ship) founded the second mission (later moved a short distance south toCarmel). Carmel became Serra's Alta California mission headquarters.
TheJuan Bautista de Anza expedition of (1775–76) entered Alta California from the southeast (crossing theColorado River near today'sYuma, Arizona), and picked up Portolá's trail atMission San Gabriel. De Anza's scouts found easier traveling in several inland valleys, rather than staying on the rugged coast. On his journey north, de Anza traveled theSan Fernando Valley andSalinas Valley. After detouring to the coast to visit thePresidio of Monterey, de Anza went inland again, following theSanta Clara Valley to the southern end of San Francisco Bay and on up the east side of theSan Francisco Peninsula.
Between 1683 and 1835,Jesuit andFranciscanmissionaries established a series of religious outposts from today'sBaja California andBaja California Sur into present-dayCalifornia. Heavy freight and long-distance passenger movement was practical only via ships by a coastal water route.[5]
While it is sometimes claimed[citation needed] that mission settlements were deliberately spaced approximately 30 miles (48 kilometers) apart to facilitate overland travel via horseback during the Spanish era, this claim is not made in any historical sources and first appeared in 20th-century advertising materials encouraging automobile travel along the route. The missions are in fact spaced at highly variable intervals and do not reflect any particular planning of this kind. It is also traditionally claimed that the padres sprinkledmustard seeds along the trail to mark the windings of the trail's northward progress with bright yellow flowers, creating a golden trail stretching fromSan Diego to Sonoma, although this legend remains unverified.[6][7]
Valuable seeds were brought to California also marking the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro with trees for different uses. For example, ash trees were the marker for where a spring was to be found, as seen to this day at the church ofNuestra Señora del Tránsito [Wikidata] inFresnillo, Zacatecas.[citation needed]
By the mid-nineteenth century, when California became a state, the route had been improved in certain sections, but was wholly inadequate for large stagecoaches and freight wagons.[8]: 52 In 1892, Anna Pitcher ofPasadena, California initiated an effort to establish a commemorative route which was adopted by theCalifornia Federation of Women's Clubs in 1902.[9] In the early twentieth century, organizations and government agencies became interested in creating official designations or commemorations of roads and highways. Given the lack of standardized highway signs at the time, it was decided to place distinctive bells along the route, hung on supports in the form of an 11-foot (3.4 m) high shepherd's crook, also described as "a Franciscan walking stick". The bells were designed byMrs. A. S. C. Forbes, who also owned theCalifornia Bell Company where they were cast.[10][11] The first of 450 bells were unveiled on August 15, 1906, at thePlaza Church in the Pueblo nearOlvera Street inLos Angeles.[12]
A 1915 map produced by theAutomobile Club of Southern California traced the route that connected the missions for motorists to follow.[4] The club and associated groups cared for the bells from the mid-1920s through 1931 after the original organization which installed the bells fragmented. Distinctive route markers were added toU.S. Route 101 and other national auto trails when the joint board of state highway officials adopted theUnited States Numbered Highway System in 1926.[13] The state highways forming El Camino Real were identified asHighway 1, U.S. Route 101 andHighway 82 on the San Francisco Peninsula in a 1959 law.[14] Most of the bells eventually disappeared due to vandalism, theft or simple loss due to the relocation or rerouting of highways and roads.[15] The State took over bell maintenance in 1933.[16] After a reduction in the number of bells to around 80, the State began replacing them, at first with concrete, and later with iron.[17] Justin Kramer took over the production of the bells in 1959.[16] The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) began a restoration effort in 1996.
Keith Robinson, Principal Landscape Architect at Caltrans developed an El Camino Real restoration program which resulted in the installation of 555 El Camino Real Bell Markers in 2005. The Bell Marker consists of a 460 mm diameter cast metal bell set atop a 75 mm diameter Schedule 40 pipe column that is attached to a concrete foundation using anchor rods. The original 1906 bell molds were used to fabricate the replacement bells.[18] The bells are most typically marked1769 & 1906, and include a designer's copyright notice.[12] The two dates represent the date of the founding of the first Alta-California mission in San Diego, and the date of the setting of the first commemorative bell-marker, respectively.[19] In 1997, the California Federation of Women's Clubs, in conjunction withCalifornia State Automobile Association, developed a restoration project as part of CalTrans "Adopt-a-Highway" program.[16] Permits issued by Caltrans for installations along state routes have detailed specifications on how the bell should be set up for safety and legal considerations.[14] The Caltrans were provided over two million dollars in grants categorized under Transportation Enhancements, a governmental program that aims to symbolize and preserve cultural, ecologically beneficial, and various aesthetic aspects of the land surrounding transportation routes.[20][21]
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For some indigenous populations, the bells are painful symbols of the dehumanization of their ancestors, together with the domination and erasure of their culture.[22] TheAmah Mutsun tribal band shared with local authorities how the bells represent historical injustices and oppression of their people, such as the punishment endured for missing a ring of the bell.[23] In response, a bell at theUniversity of California, Santa Cruz was removed by campus officials in June 2019.[24] The issue was also present when thestatues of Junípero Serra were damaged and/or removed in 2020 during theGeorge Floyd protests which expanded to include monuments of individuals associated with the controversy over thegenocide of indigenous peoples in the Americas. The historical preservation commission ofSanta Cruz reported to the city council in November 2020 that the bells represent a painful history for the indigenous people of the city, and noted that a bell in Mission Park Plaza had been stolen in 1999 and not replaced.[25] Santa Cruz scheduled the removal of the last bell in the city, at the intersection of Soquel and Dakota avenues, for August 28, 2021, but the bell was stolen the night before it was to be removed. The Tribal Band, an organization of local tribes, led a ceremony to mark the occasion in spite of the theft.[26]
Several modern highways include parts of the commemorative route, though large sections are on city streets (for instance, most of the stretch betweenSan Jose andSan Francisco). The full route as defined in section 635, subdivision (b) of theCalifornia Streets and Highways Code is as follows:[1][27][better source needed]
| Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|
| Interstate 5 | U.S.-Mexico border toAnaheim |
| Anaheim Boulevard,Harbor Boulevard,State Route 72 andWhittier Boulevard | Anaheim toWhittier |
| Whittier to Los Angeles |
| U.S. Route 101 | Los Angeles toSan Jose |
| State Route 87 | within San Jose |
| State Route 82 | San Jose toSan Francisco |
| Interstate 280 | San Francisco |
| U.S. Route 101 | San Francisco toNovato |
| State Route 37 | Novato toSears Point |
| State Route 121 | Sears Point to Sonoma |
| State Route 12 | Sonoma |
| Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|
| State Route 87 | withinSan Jose |
| State Route 92 | San Jose toFremont |
| State Route 238 | Fremont toHayward |
| State Route 185 | Hayward toOakland |
| State Route 123 | Oakland toSan Pablo (continued toMartinez) |
Some older local roads that parallel these routes also have the name.Mission Street in San Francisco does correspond to the commemorative route. An unpaved stretch of the old road has been preserved just east ofMission San Juan Bautista; this section of road runs parallel to theSan Andreas Fault, which can be clearly seen where the ground drops several feet.[citation needed] Many streets throughout California bear the name of the road, often with scant relation to the original.
A section of the old mission road, El Camino Real fronts theRios-Caledonia Adobe inSan Miguel. This road served stagecoaches and then was paved as part of the original US 101 highway.[citation needed]
The route through theSan Mateo andSanta Clara counties is designated asState Route 82,[28] and some stretches of it are namedEl Camino Real. The old road is part of the de Anza route, located a few miles west of Route 101.[citation needed]
El Camino Real is designated asCalifornia Historical Landmark #784. There are two state historical markers honoring the road: one located nearMission San Diego de Alcalá in San Diego[2] and the other one nearMission San Francisco de Asís in San Francisco.[3]
California Roads portalOriginal and current manufacturer of the El Camino Real bells
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