Felipe de Neve, Founder of L.A.
As the new governor of California, Felip de Neve had recommended to the
viceroy of Mexico that a mission be established at “that delightful
place” along the river where Father Juan Crespi and others had met the
Indians. In time King Carlos of Spain agreed, and ordered de Neve to
establish a town at that site.
Governor de Neve tackled the project with enthusiasm, laying out exactly
how the new town would look: perhaps the first planned town in North
America. He not only laid out the plaza (later moved slightly because of
flooding), but also determined where the pastures, royal lands, and
other divisions were to be located.
Getting settlers from Mexico was another matter, and it took 2 years
(1771) for the first to arrive, largely from Sonora. There were 11 men,
11 women, and 22 children.
On September 4, 1781, the new village was founded amid considerable
hoopla, and to the great interest oif the Indians who lived there.
The Early Settlement of Los Angeles
The new governor of California, Felip de Neve, recommended to the
viceroy in Mexico that the place suggested by Father Crespi as an ideal
place for a mission be developed into a pueblo. King Carlos III of Spain
in turn took the recommendation and ordered Governor de Neve to
establish the pueblo.
De Neve took the job of establishing the settlement very seriously. He
drew up plans for the pueblo, including a plaza, fields, pastures, and
royal lands. This surely is the first time a city has been planned
before the first settler arrived, and ironic in view of the unfettered
growth of Los Angeles.
Persuading settlers to come here from Mexico was another matter. In
spite of many inducements, such as money and land, it took months before
he was able to get enough settlers, and he had to go to Sonora to get
them.
Finally, a group of 11 men, 11 women, and 22 children were gathered
together at the Mission San Gabriel. On September 4, 1781, they left the
mission, accompanied by de Neve, soldiers, mission priests, and a few
Indians to go the site along the river.
There was a speech by Governor de Neve, a blessing and prayers from the
mission fathers — all watched by the Yang-Na Indians. Thus did El
Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula (The
Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angeles of Porciuncula) come into
existence.
The new pueblo grew slowly, and amenities were few. The houses were very
small, usually of adobe with flat roofs — glassless windows, and
rawhide doors. The narrow streets were almost impassable when it rained.
There were, of course, no sidewalks or lawns, and the trees along the
river rapidly disappeared.
By 1790 Los Angeles had 28 household and a population of 139. By 1800
the population was 315 and 70 families; there was also a town hall,
guardhouse, army barracks, and granaries.
This Spanish town neither knew nor cared that the United States had been
born and was already moving relentlessly across the continent. The first
Yankee settler did not arrive until about 1820.