Finding History

San Mateo County was formed in 1856 after San Francisco County was split apart. In response to the lawlessness and vigilantism that escalated rapidly between 1855 and 1856, the California government decided to divide the county. A straight line was drawn across the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula just north of San Bruno Mountain. Everything south of the line became the new San Mateo County while everything north of the line became the new San Francisco County.

San Mateo County bears the Spanish name for Saint Matthew. As a place name, San Mateo appears as early as 1776 and several local geographic features were also designated San Mateo on early maps including variously: a settlement, an arroyo, a headland jutting into the Pacific (Point Montara), and a large land holding (Rancho San Mateo).

#2: Portola Journey’s End
#19: Broderick-Terry Dueling Place
#21: Portola Expedition Camp
#22: Portola Expedition Camp
#23: Portola Expedition Camp
#24: Portola Expedition Camp
#25: Portola Expedition Camp
#26: Portola Expedition Camp
#27: Portola Expedition Camp
#47: Anza Expedition Camp
#48: Anza Expedition Camp
#92: Portola Expedition Camp
#93: Woodside Store
#94: Portola Expedition Camp
#343: Old Store at La Honda
#375: Tunitas Beach, Indian Village site on Portola Route
#391: Sanchez Adobe

#393: The Hospice (Outpost of Mission Dolores)
#394: Site of the Discovery of San Francisco Bay
#474: Site of the Former Village of Searsville
#478: Site of San Mateo County’s First Sawmill
#816: Union Cemetery
#825: Casa de Tableta
#846: Burlingame Railroad Station
#856: Ralston Hall
#886: Carolands
#906: Steele Brothers Dairy Ranches
#907: Filoli
#909: Our Lady of the Wayside
#930: Pigeon Point Lighthouse
#934: Temporary Detention Camps – Tanforan Assembly Center
#939: Twentieth Century Folk Art Environments (Thematic) -Capidro
#949: First Congregational Church of Pescadero
#955: Menlo Park Railroad Station