The Estudillo family is a prominent

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 ...

family of

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

.San Diego Historical Society – The Estudillo Family
/ref> Members of the family held extensive ranchos and numerous important positions, including

California State Treasurer The state treasurer of California is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the Government of California, government of the U.S. state of California. 34 individuals have held the office of state treasurer since statehood. The incumb ...

mayor of San Diego The mayor of the City of San Diego is the official head and chief executive officer of the U.S. city of San Diego, California. The mayor has the duty to enforce and execute the laws enacted by the San Diego City Council, the legislative branch. ...

, and commandant of the

Presidio of San Diego El Presidio Real de San Diego (Royal Presidio of San Diego) is a historic fort in San Diego, California. It was established on May 14, 1769, by Gaspar de Portolá, leader of the first European land exploration of Alta California—at that time a ...

Notable members

José María Estudillo

José María Estudillo José María Estudillo (died April 8, 1830) was a Spanish-born Californio military officer and early settler of San Diego. He is the founder of the Estudillo family of California and served as Commandant of the Presidio of San Diego. Life List o ...

is the founder of the family. He was one of the first settlers of

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

and a celebrated military officer. He served twice as Commandant of the Presidio of San Diego (1820–1821 and 1827–1830). He built the Casa de Estudillo of San Diego, a National Historical Landmark. During an 1823 expedition through the

Coachella Valley The Coachella Valley ( ) is an arid rift valley in the Colorado Desert of Southern California in Riverside County. The valley has been referred to as Greater Palm Springs and occasionally the Palm Springs Area due to the historic promine ...

, he first recorded the existence of thermal springs near modern-day

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

.
here for Table of Contents

José Joaquín Estudillo

José Joaquín Estudillo was born in

Monterey Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census. The city was fou ...

in 1800. He enlisted as an officer at aged 15 and served at the

Presidio of Monterey The Presidio of Monterey (POM), located in Monterey, California, is an active US Army installation with historic ties to the Spanish colonial era. Currently, it is the home of the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLI-FLC). ...

. He later served one term as Alcalde of San Francisco (mayor) from 1835 to 1836. He was in charge of the secularization of

Mission San Francisco de Asís The Mission San Francisco de Asís (), also known as Mission Dolores, is a historic Catholic Church, Catholic church complex in San Francisco, San Francisco, California. Operated by the Archdiocese of San Francisco, the complex was founded in ...

at the beginning of 1835. He was granted Rancho San Leandro in Contra Costa in 1837 and later founded the city of

San Leandro San Leandro (Spanish for " St. Leander") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area; between Oakland to the northwest, and Ashland, Castro Valley, and Hayward to the south ...

. There he built the Casa de Estudillo of San Leandro, a Californian Historic Landmark.

José Antonio Estudillo

José Antonio Estudillo José Antonio Estudillo (November 5, 1803 – July 20, 1852) was a Californio ranchero, politician, and soldier, who served as Alcalde of San Diego and as San Diego County Assessor. He was a member of the Estudillo family of California, a prom ...

was born in

in 1803. He enlisted as a soldier at the

. He served one term as Alcalde of San Diego (mayor), from 1837 to 1839, and twice as acting mayor, in 1845 and 1846. He was granted

Rancho Janal Rancho Janal was a Mexican land grant in present day San Diego County, California, given in 1829 by Governor José María de Echeandía to José Antonio Estudillo. The grant was located near present day Otay Mesa. A large portion of the grant i ...

in 1829 and

Rancho San Jacinto Viejo Rancho San Jacinto Viejo was a Mexican land grant in present-day Riverside County, California given in 1842 by Governor Pro-tem Manuel Jimeno to José Antonio Estudillo. At the time of the US Patent, Rancho San Jacinto Viejo was a part of San D ...

in 1842. He served as the first

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its border with Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634; it is the second-most populous ...

Assessor in 1850.

José Guadalupe Estudillo

José Guadalupe Estudillo was born in

in 1838. He served as 10th

(1875 to 1880) and as 13th

(1868 to 1869). He also served as Treasurer of

from 1864 to 1875.

Other members

* Miguel Estudillo served in the

California Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature (the lower house being the California State Assembly). The state senate convenes, along with the state assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. N ...

(1908–1910) and the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

(1904–1908). While in the Assembly he authored the legislation giving

Yosemite Yosemite National Park ( ) is a national park of the United States in California. It is bordered on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service ...

to the federal government for the establishment of a national park. He also served twice as City Attorney of

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. As of the 2020 census, the city has a population of 314,998. It is the most populous city in th ...

(1918–1924 and 1941–1949).

Legacy

2019 Casa de Estudillo bell tower and garden

The Casa de Estudillo in San Diego is a National Historical Landmark.''San Diego Union Tribune'' – Furnishing an Old Town adobe that tells San Diego's story was a labor of love and perseverance
/ref> The Casa de Estudillo in San Leandro is a

California Historic 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 ...

. The Estudillo Mansion in San Jacinto is open to the public as a museum. The Estudillo House in Riverside is a city landmark. José Joaquin Estudillo founded the city of

, which is named after his Rancho San Leandro. Similarly,

founded the town of

San Jacinto, California San Jacinto ( , ; ) is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. It is located at the north end of the San Jacinto Valley, with Hemet, California, Hemet to its south and Beaumont, California, Beaumont to its north. The mountains ...

, which is named after his Rancho San Jacinto. Estudillo Elementary School in San Jacinto is named after

. Estudillo Street in Martinez and

, as well as Estudillo Avenue in

, are named after the family.

References

{{reflist Californio families