The Ciurca Eurypterid Collection Sam Ciurca (at left) and Erik Tetlie hold important specimens of Eurypterus remipes lacustris (YPM.207290) from the Late Silurian Williamsville Formation at Bennett Quarry, Buffalo, New York, USA.
San Diego Historic Landmark. Mission Basilica San Diego de AlcalÃ¡ was the first Franciscan mission in The Californias, a province of New Spain. Located in present-day San Diego, California, it was founded on July 16, 1769 by Spanish friar JunÃ­pero Serra in an area long inhabited by the Kumeyaay.
The FOUNDING of CALIFORNIA. Old Town San Diego is considered the âbirthplaceâ of California. San Diego is the site of the first permanent Spanish settlement in California. It was here in 1769, that Father Junipero Serra came to establish the very first mission in a chain of 21 missions that were to be the cornerstone of Californiaâs colonization. Father Serraâs mission and Presidio were built on a hillside overlooking what is currently known as Old Town San Diego. At the base of the hill in 1820âs, a small Mexican community of adobe buildings was formed and by 1835 had attained the status of El Pueblo de San Diego. In 1846, a U.S. Navy Lieutenant and a Marine Lieutenant, raised the American flag in the Old Town San Diego Plaza.