Portolá Trail Campsite 2 Explained

Portolá Trail Campsite No. 2
Location:	La Cienega Park in Beverly Hills
Coordinates:	34.0622°N -118.3763°W
Built:	1769
Designation1:	California
Designation1 Number:	665
Designation1 Date:	Nov. 5, 1958

The Portolá Trail Campsite 2 or Portolá Trail Campsite No. 2 is the spot of the first Europeans to travel and camp overnight in what is now Beverly Hills, California. The Portolá expedition camped at the site on August 3, 1769. The Portolá Trail Campsite No. 2 was designated a California Historic Landmark (No.665) on Nov. 5, 1958. The Portolá Trail Campsite is located in what is now 325 South La Cienega Boulevard between Olympic Boulevard and Gregory, in Beverly Hills. in Los Angeles County.^[1] Military officer Gaspar de Portolá was the commander of the expedition for the Spanish Empire with the goal of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The expedition led to the founding of the first mission in the Los Angeles Basin, the Mission Vieja, on September 8, 1771, and of Alta California. The expedition arrived at Portolá Trail Campsite No. 2 from the Portolá Trail Campsite No. 1 in what is now Elysian Park. They came to camp site 1 from the San Gabriel Valley, were the Mission San Gabriel would be built later in 1776. As they depart Portolá Trail Campsite No. 2 they traveled west towards Santa Monica Bay. At San Monica Bay the expedition turned and traveled north to were the future Mission San Fernando would be built in 1797. Form San Fernando the expedition turned west to Ventura, the site of the future Mission San Buenaventura built in 1782.^[2] ^[3] ^[4] ^[5] ^[6] ^[7] ^[8]

Listed on the state historic mark #665 at the site:

Don Gaspar de Portolá (1723–1786) – Expedition Leader would become the first Governor of the Californias.
Captain Don Fernando Rivera y Moncada (1725–1781) – soldier and became the third Governor of The Californias.
Lieutenant Don Pedro Fages (1734–1794) – soldier, became Lieutenant Governor under Gaspar de Portolá.
Sgt. José Francisco Ortega (1734–1798) – soldier and early settler of Alta California. Future leader of the Presidio of San Diego.
Father Juan Crespí (1721–1782) – recorded the complete expedition. Founder of first mission in area.
Father Francisco Gómez – served as chaplain for the expedition, a Father from Mission San Diego, later moved to Mission Carmel.

Marker

Marker on the site reads:^[9]

NO. 665 PORTOLÁ TRAIL CAMPSITE, 2 – The expedition of Don Gaspar de Portolá from Mexico passed this way en route to Monterey to begin the Spanish colonization of California. With Captain Don Fernando Rivera y Moncada, Lieutenant Don Pedro Fages, Sergeant José Francisco Ortega, and Fathers Juan Crespí and Francisco Gómez, Portolá and his party camped near this spot on August 3, 1769.

http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/ListedResources/Detail/655 Cal, Parks Marker, 665, Portolá Trail Campsite
A Description of Distant Roads: Original Journals of the First Expedition into California, 1769-177o, by Juan Crespí and edited and translated by Alan K. Brown, published by San Diego State University Press, 2001.
http://misionvieja.blogspot.com/2010/03/founding-of-mission-san-gabriel.html The Founding of Mission San Gabriel
http://misionvieja.blogspot.com/2010/02/first-written-record-of-mision-vieja.html The first written record of the Misión Vieja area
http://misionvieja.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-kizhgabrieleno-people-and-mision.html The Kizh/Gabrieleño People and Misión Vieja
http://misionvieja.blogspot.com/ Misión Vieja: The Ancestral Center of the Los Angeles Region
https://homesteadmuseum.wordpress.com/2018/10/22/remnant-landscapes-at-mision-vieja-old-mission-south-el-monte-and-montebello/ Home Stead Museum, Remnant Landscapes at Mision Vieja (Old Mission), South El Monte and Montebello
https://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=655 Marker Database, 655
https://www.californiahistoricallandmarks.com/landmarks/chl-655 californiahistoricallandmarks.com 655, Portolá Trail Campsite 1