SFPUC 2001 Alameda Watershed Management Plan

III. ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING AND IMPACTSH. CULTURAL RESOURCES1.0 SETTING1.1 ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND PREHISTORICAL RECORDSThe greater Alameda Watershed region was a favorable setting for early and prehistoricsettlement. The diverse habitats and numerous creeks of the Watershed and surrounding areassupport an abundance of animal and plant resources that would have supported permanent andseasonal habitation. There is evidence of settlement in the Watershed region from about2,300 years ago, with numerous documented sites, including sites in Pleasanton and in the SunolRegional Wilderness. Although the Watershed lands are a favorable locale for early andprehistoric settlement, an intensive archaeological survey within the boundaries of the AlamedaWatershed has not been conducted, and consequently there are few known sites. However,recent survey and test excavation work in the vicinity of the Sunol Water Temple has indicatedthe presence of a prehistoric cultural deposit, discussed below.At the time the Europeans first came to the general area in about 1769, the land was occupied bythe Ohlone, also known as the Costanoans. The tribe that inhabited the area controlled what isnow the East Bay, from Richmond to San Jose and the Livermore Valley to the east. It isestimated that approximately 2,000 people inhabited this area in 1770. Near the Watershed,villages would have been situated adjacent to major and minor creeks and a prehistoric marshlocated in the Pleasanton area, with both permanent villages and temporary camps for seasonalresources. Within the Watershed lands, at least one prehistoric village, El Molino, near thepresent-day Sunol Water Temple, is known to have existed.1.2 HISTORICAL RECORDSThe historical records can roughly be divided into three periods: Spanish Period (1769 to 1822),Mexican Period (1822 to 1848), and American Period (1848 to present).Spanish PeriodFollowing Portola’s discovery of San Francisco Bay in 1769, Pedro Fages led explorations to theEast Bay and crossed through Sunol Valley and Alameda Creek circa 1772. In this area, theroute of the present-day I-680 leading to the Sunol area was known as “Mission Pass,” and waswell traveled by Spanish expeditions as well as by Indian and Mexican vaqueros. Thousands ofheads of mission cattle, horses, and sheep were herded through the pass to graze in thepasturelands of the Livermore and Sunol Valleys.Throughout this period, the Spanish forced the native Californians of the East Bay from theirvillages and brought them to the missions to be converted to Christianity. Mission Santa Clarade Asis was founded in 1777 about eight miles southwest of the Watershed, and Mission SanJose de Guadalupe was founded in 1797 about two and one-half miles west of the Watershed.NOP 96.223E: Alameda Watershed Management Plan III.H-1 ESA / 930385January 2001