Arguello Site - Lamchin Land and the Rancho of Fleas

A stop on San Carlos History Walk, a free self-guided tour.

Long before the railroad, this ground belonged to the Lamchin, an Ohlone people who lived along the creeks between the bay and the hills. Scholars think their main village sat on the north bank of Pulgas Creek. The Spanish turned its name into las Pulgas, the fleas, and the label stuck to the whole region.

In 1795 Spain granted these lands to the soldier Jose Dario Arguello. His son, Luis Antonio Arguello, later the first California-born governor of Alta California, inherited the rancho. The family home stood near today's Magnolia Avenue and Cedar Street, and a city marker on this block recalls a simple shelter built for the herdsmen who watched the Arguello cattle on Rancho de las Pulgas.

After California became part of the United States, the family sold the land in pieces through their agent, S. M. Mezes, and the ranch slowly became towns. Look around at the oaks and the gentle slope toward the creek: they are the clearest link to the land the Lamchin knew.

Getting here: From the depot, cross El Camino Real and walk west through the residential blocks, about 10 minutes, to the 500 block of Cedar Street.

Did you know?: In 1854 Timothy Guy Phelps became the first American to own land in San Carlos, buying 200 acres of the old rancho; he later served in Congress.

Photo op: Frame the old oaks along Cedar Street with the hills rising behind them - the closest view to the rancho landscape.

More on Wikipedia: Rancho de las Pulgas · Ohlone · Luis Antonio Arguello · Jose Dario Arguello

Arguello Site - Lamchin Land and the Rancho of Fleas

Stops on this tour