Don Antonio María Suñol was a Spanish-born

Californio Californio (plural Californios) is a term used to designate a Hispanic Californian, especially those descended from Spanish and Mexican settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries. California's Spanish-speaking community has resided there sinc ...

businessman, ranchero, and politician.Alive Magazine - Patriarchs of Alta California: Suñol and Amador
/ref> Suñol served two terms as Alcalde of San José (mayor) and was one of the largest landowners in the

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

. He is the namesake of the town of Sunol and the founder of Willow Glen, an affluent neighborhood of San Jose.

Biography

Suñol was born on 13 June 1797 to a

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

family of minor nobility in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. He emigrated to

Alta California Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New California') among other names, was a province of New Spain, formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but ...

in 1817, to

Yerba Buena Yerba buena or hierba buena is the Spanish name for a number of aromatic plants, most of which belong to the mint family. ''Yerba buena'' translates as "good herb". The specific plant species regarded as ''yerba buena'' varies from region to regi ...

(modern

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

). By 1818, Suñol had moved to San José.
Witness to an Empire: Life of Antonio María Suñol
'; Sourisseau Academy for California History at

San José State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sys ...

(Delgado, J).] Circa 1820, he opened what is considered to be the first mercantile in San José, on the Plaza del Pueblo (modern

Plaza de César Chávez The Plaza de César Chávez is an urban plaza and park in Downtown San Jose, California. The plaza's origins date to 1797 as the '' plaza mayor'' of the Spanish ''Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe'', making it the oldest public space in Northern ...

). His store dealt in fur hides, lumber, alcohol, and other essentials. Success from Suñol's store gradually transformed him into one of the most prominent businessmen in the

Santa Clara Valley The Santa Clara Valley is a geologic trough in Northern California that extends 90 miles (145 km) south–southeast from San Francisco to Hollister. The longitudinal valley is bordered on the west by the Santa Cruz Mountains and on the east ...

. Suñol served as Alcalde of San José (mayor) for two terms, first in 1826 and then 1841.Bancroft, Hubert Howe. ''History of California: 1825-1840'' Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1840. ; See pages 729-731Bancroft, Hubert Howe. ''History of California: 1808-1824'' Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1840. ; See pages 604-606 In 1835, Suñol donated the land at the northeast corner of the Plaza del Pueblo for the reconstruction of

San José Church San José Church ( es, Iglesia de San José), located in Old San Juan within the historic colonial zone of the capital of Puerto Rico, is one of the first significant works of architecture on the island. The church is one of the earliest surviving ...

. Suñol, alongside his brother-in-law Antonio María Pico (who served as Alcalde of San José at the time), oversaw the construction of the church for the next eight years until its completion and consecration in 1846. In 1842, Suñol petitioned

Francisco García Diego y Moreno Francisco García Diego y Moreno, OFM, (17 September 1785 – 30 April 1846) was the first bishop of the Diocese of the Californias. Early episcopal appointments In 1801, he received the habit of Francis at the missionary College of Guadalup ...

, the Bishop of the Californias, for proper religious vestments and relics for the church. USA-San Jose-Antonio Suñol house-2

Suñol amassed numerous rancho grants over his lifetime. He was granted Rancho Agua Caliente in

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in 1836.Ogden Hoffman, 1862, ''Reports of Land Cases Determined in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California'', Numa Hubert, San Francisco In 1839, He and his three brothers-in-law ( Antonio María Pico, Juan Pablo Bernal, and Agustín Bernal) were granted

Rancho Valle de San José Rancho Valle de San José (also called "Valle de San José y Corralitos") was a Mexican land grant in present-day Alameda County, California. It was made up of the former pasture land belonging to Mission San José. It was given in 1839 by Go ...

, formerly belonging to

Mission San José Mission San José may refer to: *Mission San José (California), a Spanish mission in Fremont, California * Mission San Jose, Fremont, California, a neighborhood * Mission San Jose High School, a high school in Fremont, California *Mission San José ...

. In 1844, he was granteed Rancho Los Coches (in modern-day

Midtown San Jose Midtown San Jose is a mixed commercial and residential district of San Jose, California, to the southwest of Downtown San Jose and east of West San Carlos. History The area was a census-designated place and primarily residential area in Santa C ...

and Willow Glen neighborhoods of San Jose), where he built the Suñol House, a

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...

.California Pioneers of Santa Clara County - Roberto Adobe and Suñol Adobe
/ref> He is considered the founder of Sunol, California, which was founded on his Rancho Valle de San José. Suñol is also considered to be the founder of Willow Glen, a prominent neighborhood of

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

. Beginning in 1839, Suñol became a close confident and financier of

John Sutter John Augustus Sutter (February 23, 1803 – June 18, 1880), born Johann August Sutter and known in Spanish as Don Juan Sutter, was a Swiss immigrant of Mexican and American citizenship, known for establishing Sutter's Fort in the area th ...

, the founder of

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

and an important figure in the

California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...

. Sutter eventually became heavily indebted to Suñol. He died on 18 March 1865 and is buried at

Mission Santa Clara de Asís Mission Santa Clara de Asís ( es, Misión Santa Clara de Asís) is a Spanish mission in the city of Santa Clara, California. The mission, which was the eighth in California, was founded on January 12, 1777, by the Franciscan order. Named for ...

Personal life

Suñol married María de los Dolores Bernal on 7 September 1823 at

. They had eight children together: José Antonio, José Dolores, José Narciso, Francisca, Paula, Antonia, María de la Encarnación, and Marcelina. His daughter Paula Suñol de Sainsevain was married to Pedro Sainsevain, a signer of the

Californian Constitution The Constitution of California ( es, Constitución de California) is the Constitution, primary organizing law for the U.S. state of California, describing the duties, powers, structures and functions of the government of California. California' ...

in 1849.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sunol, Antonio Californios 1797 births 1865 deaths Mayors of San Jose, California