Don Antonio María Suñol was a Spanish-born

Californio Californios (singular Californio) are Californians of Spaniards, Spanish descent, especially those descended from settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries before California was annexed by the United States. California's Spanish language in C ...

businessman, ranchero, and politician.Alive Magazine - Patriarchs of Alta California: Suñol and Amador
/ref> He 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, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. The Association of Bay Area Governments ...

. He is the namesake of the town of Sunol and the founder of

Willow Glen Willow Glen is a district of San Jose, California, San Jose, California, in Santa Clara County, California, Santa Clara County. Willow Glen is known for its historic downtown, dining and shopping, and is one of the most expensive neighborhoods t ...

, an affluent neighborhood of San Jose.

Biography

Suñol was born on 13 June 1797 to a Catalan family of minor nobility in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 c ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. He emigrated to

Alta California Alta California (, ), also known as Nueva 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 was made a separat ...

in 1817, to Yerba Buena (modern

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

). By 1818, he 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 research 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 Universit ...

(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 Alta California, Spanish ''Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe'', making it the oldest public sp ...

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

Santa Clara Valley The Santa Clara Valley (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Valle de Santa Clara'') is a geologic trough in Northern California that extends south–southeast from San Francisco to Hollister, California, Hollister. The longitudinal valley is bordered ...

. 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, he donated the land at the northeast corner of the Plaza del Pueblo for the reconstruction of San José Church. 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, the Bishop of the Californias, for proper religious vestments and relics for the church. Suñol amassed numerous rancho grants over his lifetime. He was granted Rancho Agua Caliente in

Alameda County Alameda County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and 21st most populous nationally. The county seat is Oakland. A ...

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, formerly belonging to Mission San José. In 1844, he was granted Rancho Los Coches (in modern-day Midtown San Jose and

neighborhoods of San Jose), where he built the Roberto-Suñol Adobe, a

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meetin ...

.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

, a prominent neighborhood of

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

. 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 Switzerland, Swiss immigrant who became a Mexican and later an American citizen, known for establishing Sutter ...

, the founder of

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

and an important figure in the

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) 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 from the rest of the U ...

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

Mission Santa Clara de Asís Mission 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 Franciscans. Named for Saint Clare of Assisi, who founded th ...

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 in 1849.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sunol, Antonio 1797 births 1865 deaths Mayors of San Jose, California Immigrants to New Spain People of Alta California