William Anthony Richardson (August 27, 1795 – April 20, 1856) was an early

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

entrepreneur, influential in the development of

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 ...

, the forerunner of the city of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " 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 fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. Richardson was the first to receive a

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

in the city, deeded to him by the alcalde, José Joaquín Estudillo. He was subsequently granted the

Rancho Saucelito Rancho Saucelito (also called "Rancho Sausalito") was a Ranchos of California, Mexican land grant in present-day Marin County, California, given in 1838 by Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado, Juan Alvarado to William A. Richardson. The name means "r ...

, an even larger rancho land holding across San Francisco Bay comprising a large portion of present-day southeastern Marin County. On these lands, he founded the city of

Sausalito Sausalito (Spanish for "small willow grove") is a city in Marin County, California, United States, located southeast of Marin City, south-southeast of San Rafael, and about north of San Francisco from the Golden Gate Bridge. Sausalito's ...

Life

Richardson arrived as second mate aboard the British whaling ship ''Orion'' in San Francisco Bay in 1822, shortly after Mexico had won its independence from Spain. An English mariner who had picked up a fluency in Spanish during his travels, he jumped ship after meeting and dancing with a local woman, Maria Antonia Martinez, at an all-night fiesta. He quickly became an influential presence in the now-Mexican territory. By 1825, Richardson had assumed Mexican citizenship, converted to Roman Catholicism and married Maria Antonia Martinez (1803–1887), the eldest daughter of Ygnacio Martinez, commandant of the Presidio of San Francisco and, in 1842, grantee of Rancho El Pinole. His ambitions now expanding to land holdings of his own; Richardson submitted a petition to Governor Echeandía for a rancho on the headlands across the

Golden Gate The Golden Gate is a strait on the west coast of North America that connects San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. It is defined by the headlands of the San Francisco Peninsula and the Marin Peninsula, and, since 1937, has been spanned by t ...

from the Presidio, to be called "

". The Spanish word ''saucelito'' is believed to refer to a small cluster of willows, a moist-soil tree, indicating the presence of a freshwater spring and/or creek (possibly Coyote Creek). Even before filing his claim, Richardson had used the fresh-water source to establish a watering station on the shores of what is now the town of

, selling fresh water to visiting vessels. Between Sausalito and the

Tiburon Peninsula The Tiburon Peninsula (french: Péninsule de Tiburon), or The Xaragua Peninsula, simply "the Tiburon" (''le Tiburon''), is a region of Haiti encompassing most of Haiti's southern coast. It starts roughly at the southernmost point of the Haiti-D ...

to the north is an inlet of San Francisco Bay, now called

Richardson Bay Richardson Bay (originally Richardson's Bay) is a shallow, ecologically rich arm of San Francisco Bay, managed under a Joint Powers Agency of four northern California cities. The Richardson Bay Sanctuary was acquired in the early 1960s by the ...

, which formed part of the northern limit to Richardson's claim. However, his ownership of the land was legally tenuous: other claims had been submitted for the same region, and, at any rate, Mexican law reserved headlands for military uses, not private ownership. Richardson temporarily abandoned his claim and settled instead outside the Presidio, building the first two-story wood-frame house in the area and laying out the street plan for the

pueblo In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...

of Yerba Buena (the old plaza is now

Portsmouth Square Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most densel ...

). The small settlement was intended as a trading post and resupply point for ships visiting San Francisco Bay. Richardson's seafaring experience was instrumental in his also being appointed Port Captain, responsible for overseeing maritime commerce and often personally piloting arriving ships to their anchorage. After years of lobbying and legal wrangling, Richardson was given clear title to all of Rancho Saucelito on February 11, 1838. By 1841, he had sold his holdings across the bay and taken possession of the rancho, while still serving as port captain of Yerba Buena. He had financial problems in his later years and died in bankruptcy.

Legacy

and Richardson Ave. in San Francisco's Marina District are named for William Richardson. Richardson Street is one of five consecutive streets in

Martinez, California Martinez ( Spanish: ''Martínez'') is a city and the county seat of Contra Costa County, California, United States, in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Located on the southern shore of the Carquinez Strait, the city's popul ...

named for the sons-in-law of Don Ygnacio Martinez (whose land grant included the area that became the City of Martinez). On June 12, 1937, the Daughters of the California Pioneers dedicated a bronze tablet to the memory of Richardson, as the first settler in

in 1835, at Richardson Avenue and the entrance to the Presidio of San Francisco. The tablet was unveiled by the great, great grandson of Richardson, James T. Davis. Major

Angelo Joseph Rossi Angelo Joseph Rossi (January 22, 1878 – April 5, 1948) was a U.S. political figure who served as the 31st mayor of San Francisco. Life and career Rossi was born in Volcano, Amador County, California, and came to San Francisco in 1890 with ...

, Lewis Francis Byington, and others participated in the ceremonies.

References

ew York Times, letter to the editor by Joseph Carter, New York, NY, Sunday, April 6, 1997 (page 10) {{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, William California pioneers Businesspeople from California 19th-century American landowners 1795 births 1856 deaths American city founders 19th-century English businesspeople Mexican businesspeople Naturalized citizens of Mexican California English emigrants to Mexico Mexican people of English descent People from Sausalito, California People from the San Francisco Bay Area Sausalito, California 19th-century American businesspeople