The Lamchin were one of many tribes of the Ohlone (Coastanoan) people, Native Americans who lived along the

San Francisco Peninsula The San Francisco Peninsula is a peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area that separates San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. On its northern tip is the City and County of San Francisco. Its southern base is Los Altos and Mountain View, ...

. The Lamchin were the native inhabitants of what is now

San Carlos, California San Carlos (Spanish language, Spanish for "St. Charles") is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States. The population is 30,722 per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Native Americans Prior to the Spain, Spanis ...

. Information is sparse and dispersed, coming mostly from Spanish mission records – as the natives had no written language. The collected information follows over 100 years of research by many noted historians. The ''Lamchin'' are believed to be extinct – as historical, statistical and limited written accounts would seem to indicate. Their north-western neighbors were the ''Ssalson'', to the south the ''Suchihín'', and to the east the ''Puichon'', respectively in present-day

Belmont, California Belmont is a city in San Mateo County in the U.S. state of California. It is in the San Francisco Bay Area, on the San Francisco Peninsula about halfway between San Francisco and San Jose. It was originally part of Rancho de las Pulgas, f ...

, the southern end of

Crystal Springs Reservoir Crystal Springs Reservoir is a pair of artificial lakes located in the northern Santa Cruz Mountains of San Mateo County, California operated by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission for water supply to the San Francisco peninsula. Th ...

, and

Redwood City, California Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area of Northern California, approximately south of San Francisco and northwest of San Jose, California, San Jose. The city's population was 84,292 accor ...

. All the groups are considered part of the

Ohlone The Ohlone ( ), formerly known as Costanoans (from Spanish meaning 'coast dweller'), are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of the Northern California coast. When Spanish explorers and missionaries arrived in the l ...

(or

Costanoan The Ohlone ( ), formerly known as Costanoans (from Spanish meaning 'coast dweller'), are a Native American people of the Northern California coast. When Spanish explorers and missionaries arrived in the late 18th century, the Ohlone inhabited ...

) language group. The ''Ohlone'' group language has been labeled

Utian Utian (also Miwok–Costanoan, Miwok–Ohlone or formerly Mutsun) is a family of Indigenous languages spoken in Northern California, United States. The Miwok and Ohlone peoples both spoke languages of the Utian language family. It has been argu ...

. The ''Lamchin'' may have had two villages named ''Ormostac'', close to the ''Ssalson'' and ''Cachanigtac'', their main village in what is now directly south of the downtown San Carlos along Pulgas Creek. The main village name appears to contain a word for

vermin Vermin (colloquially varmint(s) or varmit(s)) are pests or nuisance animals that spread diseases and destroy crops, livestock, and property. Since the term is defined in relation to human activities, which species are included vary by regi ...

, which the Spanish missionaries translated as ''las Pulgas'' (the Fleas). The names still lives on as ''Alameda de las Pulgas'', a local main thoroughfare connecting peninsula towns along the feet of the foothills. The mission's baptismal record mentions other ''Lamchin'' villages of Ussete, Guloisnistac, and Ssupichom. The first native inhabitants were baptized at

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 ...

(''Mission Dolores'') in 1777 and last in 1794. A total of 139 ''Lamchin'' people appear in the mission's baptismal records.See Milliken, Table 8

Differences in spelling

It bears repeating that the Spanish mission records are fuzzy and sparse. Spelling differs on many entries for the same word, as the missionaries were trying to write with reference to their native language. We, in turn, re-write to our phonetic references and language. As such, authorities on this subject differ in spelling. Currently only Milliken (1995) and Brown (1973) cover Lamchin material sufficiently for reference. The table below gives a few of the (currently) known spellings, with Milliken getting preference.

Notes

References

* Brown, Alan K. ''Indians of San Mateo County'', ''La Peninsula:Journal of the San Mateo County Historical Association'', Vol. XVII No. 4, Winter 1973-1974. * Brown, Alan K. ''Place Names of San Mateo County'', published San Mateo County Historical Association, 1975. * Milliken, Randall. ''A Time of Little Choice: The Disintegration of Tribal Culture in the San Francisco Bay Area 1769-1810'' Menlo Park, CA: Ballena Press Publication, 1995. (alk. paper)

External links

History of Cordilleras Creek - Lamchin caretakers
{{authority control Indigenous peoples of California History of the San Francisco Bay Area History of San Mateo County, California

Differences in spelling

Notes

References

Further reading

External links