California Coastal Driving Tour, Half Moon Bay to San Francisco Bay Discovery Site

Entries on This Tour

This historic California home was constructed in the early 1850s by James Johnston who came to California from Ohio around 1849 during the Gold Rush and established a cattle ranch near Spanishtown (now Half Moon Bay). Johnston raised a family of three sons and ran the ranch with help of his extended family. His sons inherited the ranch and sold it to a cousin, J.F. Johnston, in the 1880s. The house was abandoned for many decades and deteriorated, but was purchased, restored, and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 as an unusual example of New England saltbox-style architecture combined with Spanish influences. The James Johnston House Foundation was created by locals to restore and rebuild the house. The Foundation operates the house as a local history museum, open one Saturday per month except for October through December. A plaque about the history of the property was set into stones near the entrance in 1976.

2. Methodist Episcopal Church at Half Moon Bay

The Community United Methodist Church building in Half Moon Bay was constructed in 1872 as the Methodist Episcopal Church. The Gothic Revival style building featured round-arched windows and an open bell tower; the tower and main entrance was on the south, facing Miramontes St. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake shook the building off if its foundation. The damaged building was rebuilt by mid-1907. An abandoned freight depot was moved to the rear yard of the church in 1930 (on Johnston St.) to become a social hall. The church became the Community Methodist Church in 1931, open to all. One-story classroom buildings were added behind the church in 1955. In 1980, the church was added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 2000, the church was turned 90 degrees so that the belfry faced west, toward Johnston St., and the additional buildings were replaced by a new sanctuary/educational wing/social hall on Johnston St.

3. William Adam Simmons House

The restored house at the corner of Johnston St. and Kelly Ave. was the property of the Simmons family over three generations from 1865 to 1990. The wood frame, 1.5-story house was clad in wood shingles and wood siding and originally was topped by a wood shingle roof. The house rested on a wooden mudsill foundation and the oldest portion of the building featured slab wall construction. The east wing was enlarged to the east between 1905 and 1911. William Adam Simmons arrived in Half Moon Bay in 1864 and worked as a carpenter; his son, Fred Allen Simmons, served as a county constable and sheriff. The William Adam Simmons House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992 as one of the three remaining residences from the 1860s in Half Moon Bay; only two of which used slab wall construction. The house recently held the psychiatric offices of Dr. Patricia Dailey.

4. Mavericks

Mavericks is a surf location in Northern California that is known for its big waves. Mavericks is a winter destination for some of the world's best big wave surfers. Very few riders become big wave surfers, and of those, only a select few are willing to risk the hazardous, sometimes deadly, conditions at Mavericks. An invitation-only contest is held there most winters, when the waves come. With a nice winter storm in the northern Pacific Ocean, it is not uncommon for Maverick’s to produce standard waves of about 25 feet or more, and they can often reach a height of over 50 feet. This rocky reef break is mainly a right, but there is also a left off the main break that is rarely surfed.

5. Devil's Slide Bunker

The Devil's Slide Bunker was a military observation station used during World War II to defend the harbor of San Fransisco. Military personnel inside the bunker would use binoculars and compasses to scout for enemy ships. If the military personnel would discover enemy ships, they would then send the coordinates of the enemy vessel to a central command post. Other observation stations in the area would then do the same, thus allowing the central command post to triangulate a ship's exact location.

6. Sanchez Adobe Park

Sanchez Adobe Park represents the history and prehistory of the site that has served as a Native American Ohlone village, an agricultural outpost for the Spanish government of nearby San Francisco, and part of a 9,000-acre ranch granted by the Mexican government to a local official, Francisco Sanchez, in 1839. Sanchez built the adobe home in the 1840s where he and his family of nine children lived. The house was on a part of the ranch sold out of the family in 1872, and it served for years as a roadhouse and a speakeasy before becoming a farm outbuilding. San Mateo County purchased the Adobe and five acres in 1947. The county restored the building by 1953, rebuilt outbuildings, and opened the park as an historic site. Sanchez Adobe Park is a California Historical Landmark and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 as an example of Mexican-inspired early California architecture. The San Mateo County Historical Association operates Sanchez Adobe in the county park, a free museum furnished with period furniture, clothing and exhibits. A new building with classrooms and exhibits on Ohlone life opened in 2019.

7. San Francisco Bay Discovery Site

This historical marker designates the spot where, in 1769, a Spanish expedition led by Gaspar de Portola, "discovered" San Francisco Bay. Portola and his men were the first Europeans to see and record the existence of the bay. Subsequent Spanish expeditions would explore it further. Eventually, a fort (the Presidio of San Francisco, founded in 1776) and missions would be established, marking the beginning of San Francisco's long history. The marker is situated at the point where the Portola Expedition came across Sweeney Ridge and discovered the bay, near the town of Pacifica. The site is a National Historic Landmark.

This Tour is a Driving or Biking Tour.

California Coastal Driving Tour, Half Moon Bay to San Francisco Bay Discovery Site

Created by Laurie Paonessa on November 13th 2024, 3:41:05 pm.

Get a QR Code for this tour

Description

This driving tour begins with a trio of 19th-century structures in Half Moon Bay and leads north up the coast to the spot where the Spanish Portola Expedition "discovered" the San Francisco Bay in 1769. In between, check out a famous surf location, a World War II military observation station, and a county park/ museum that interprets the history of its Native American, Spanish, and Mexican-American inhabitants.

Entries on This Tour

California Coastal Driving Tour, Half Moon Bay to San Francisco Bay Discovery Site

Description

Share