Fort Guijarros (Spanish "Castillo de Guijarros" ) was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

in what is now

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 ...

, California, United States. Its name means "Fort Cobblestones" in English. It was built in 1797 on Ballast Point as the first defensive fortifications for

San Diego Bay San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port in San Diego County, California, near the Mexico–United States border. The bay, which is long and wide, is the third largest of the three large, protected natural bays on California's of ...

. It was involved in the

Battle of San Diego A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

, a

naval battle Naval warfare is combat in and on the sea, the ocean, or any other battlespace involving a major body of water such as a large lake or wide river. The armed forces branch designated for naval warfare is a navy. Naval operations can be broadly d ...

between the fort and an American trading vessel. The site is registered as

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 ...

#69.

Structure and location

Fort Guijarros was made out of

adobe Adobe (from arabic: الطوب Attub ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for mudbrick. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is use ...

and it had ten

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

s mounted in gun emplacements. At least two of the guns survive. One of them, "El Jupiter", was previously at

Fort Stockton Fort Stockton may refer to: *Fort Stockton (San Diego, California), a historical fort *Fort Stockton, Texas Fort Stockton is a city in and the county seat of Pecos County, Texas, United States. It is located on Interstate 10 in Texas, Interstat ...

and is now in the collection of the

San Diego History Center The San Diego History Center is a museum in Balboa Park in San Diego, California, dedicated to the history of San Diego. Description and history Founded in 1928 by businessman and civic leader George W. Marston, the San Diego Historical Soci ...

. "El Capitan" is located in

San Diego Viejo Plaza Cannon in Old Town Plaza, called ''El Capitan'', from Fort Guijarros Plaza de Las Armas and the old bell San Diego Viejo Plaza (San Diego Old Plaza), also called Plaza de Las Armas (Plaza of the Cannon), Old Town Plaza, and Washington Squa ...

. The fort was built in 1797 as the first defensive fortifications for San Diego harbor. It commanded the entrance to

from a rise at the base of Ballast Point at

Point Loma Point Loma ( Spanish: ''Punta de la Loma'', meaning "Hill Point"; Kumeyaay: ''Amat Kunyily'', meaning "Black Earth") is a seaside community in San Diego, California, United States. Geographically it is a hilly peninsula that is bordered on the ...

. In 1796 the Spanish named the point "Punta de los Guijarros", which means "point of the cobblestones". The fort's English name is "Fort Cobblestones". The point derived the name Ballast Point from the fact that the early

Yankee The term ''Yankee'' and its contracted form ''Yank'' have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Their various meanings depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, the Northeastern United Stat ...

skippers would have stones gathered from Ballast Point to serve as

ballast Ballast is dense material used as a weight to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within ...

in their ships during their returns around

Cape Horn Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...

to their home town,

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

History

The ten guns of the fort were fired in action only twice. The first time was in 1803 during the

. The Spanish had detained the American

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...

''Lelia Byrd'' in San Diego Harbor for

smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...

otter skins. The ship's crew overpowered their Spanish captors and were headed out of the harbor when the guns of the fort sought to prevent her escape. Fire from the ''Lelia Byrd's'' guns drove the fort's gunners to seek cover. The fort again fired on an American smuggler in 1828. This time, the fort was under

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

control and the vessel was the ''Franklin''. In 1846, during the

Mexican American War Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

, the American ship USS ''Cyane'' landed American

Marines Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...

at nearby La Playa. The marines took abandoned guns from Fort Guijarros and used them to lay

siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

to Old Town San Diego. In 1873 the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

took over Ballast Point and built gun batteries for the defense of San Diego as

Fort Rosecrans Naval Base Point Loma (NBPL) is a United States Navy base in Point Loma, a neighborhood of San Diego, California. It was established on 1 October 1998 when Navy facilities in the Point Loma area of San Diego were consolidated under Commander, N ...

. These installations were maintained through

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. A

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

known as the

Ballast Point Light Ballast Point Lighthouse was a lighthouse in San Diego, California, situated on Ballast Point, a tiny peninsula extending into San Diego Bay from Point Loma. The lighthouse was torn down in 1960; the site is now on the grounds of Naval Base Poin ...

was built on Ballast Point in 1890 and survived until 1957. In 1962 the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

built a submarine base on Ballast Point as home port for the Pacific Fleet's nuclear attack submarines. The Fort Guijarros Museum Foundation conducts

archeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology ...

digs and historical research into the history of Ballast Point.

References

External links

San Diego State University archaeological papers on Fort Guijarros
{{Authority control Guijarros Guijarros History of San Diego History of San Diego County, California Point Loma, San Diego San Diego Bay 1797 in The Californias Government buildings completed in 1797 1797 establishments in The Californias Buildings and structures in San Diego Landmarks in San Diego