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The park
The park recreates Old Town as it stood from 1821 to 1872
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park preserves and recreates Old Town as it existed during the Mexican and early American periods, from its settlement in 1821 through 1872, when it lost its dominant position to Downtown. The park was established in 1968.
The presidio
The Presidio of 1769 was the first European settlement on the West Coast
The first European settlement on the West Coast of the present-day United States was the San Diego Presidio, founded by Gaspar de Portolà in 1769. Mission San Diego de Alcalá was founded by Father Junípero Serra the same year. In the 1820s the town grew up at the base of the bluff.
The pueblo
Richard Henry Dana Jr. described the pueblo in Two Years Before the Mast
During the pueblo period the Old Town area was the commercial and governmental hub of the region, though its population was never more than a few hundred. Richard Henry Dana Jr. described the town in Two Years Before the Mast. Imports had to be carried several miles over La Playa Trail.
New Town
Alonzo Horton's New Town drew the town away from Old Town
When California was admitted to the United States in 1850, San Diego was made the county seat even though its population was only 650. In the 1860s Alonzo Horton began to promote New Town, and in 1871 government records were moved there.
The buildings
Five original adobe buildings stand among the reconstructed ones
Five original adobe buildings are part of the complex. Casa de Estudillo is an 1827 adobe house and a National Historic Landmark in its own right. Mason Street School was the first public school house in San Diego.
Day 1, evening
It comes after Botanical Building.
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The words are a retelling of the Wikipedia article Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, and are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. They are checked against those articles, and a fact that is not in them is left out.