The Spanish arrived on the scene in 1776, bringing soldiers, settlers and missionaries, cattle, horses and cannons. They left a lot of footprints. In 1822, Mexico superimposed its governance and culture. The land of the San Francisco Peninsula was carved into ranchos like pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle. We know the names of many of the early explorers and officials. We use them daily in identifying streets and cities and counties: De Anza, Ortega, Portola, Moraga. Their saints are our saints: Francisco, Bruno, Mateo, Clara.

In I846, the U.S. Congress declared war on Mexico. By March of 1847, American troops were occupying the desolate Presidio under the direction of Capt. Erasmus Keyes.

In 1848, the United States won the war with Mexico, and California officially became a state in September of 1850. In the meantime, most of the soldiers caught “gold-fever” and took off from the Presidio for “them ‘thar hills.” By the early 1850s, however, the Presidio began to take on a more important role and improvements to the site also began. New barracks and mess halls were built, as well as other structures. The troops soon recovered a healthy loyalty.

In 1862, a dozen houses were built on Officer’s Row. In 1864, a hospital, named for Gen. George Wright, was constructed with 10 rooms, a kitchen, dining room, a morgue and a prisoners’ ward. The hospital had beds for 50 patients.

The 1,480 acres of the Presidio were devoid of any large trees when the Spanish and Mexicans occupied the site. Scrub brush, chaparral and other low vegetation grew here on the sand dunes, with willows growing along the creeks. The wind blew in constantly from the ocean, rearranging the sandy topography and irritating the populace. Major William A. Jones, an engineer, suggested to Major Gen. Irwin McDowell that trees should be planted to cut the wind and to beautify the area. McDowell heeded Jones’ advice, and to celebrate Arbor Day in 1886, local philanthropist Adolph Sutro contributed money for 3,000 tree slips that were planted by school children. This was the beginning of the wooded areas that soften and beautify the grounds.

On Feb. 15, 1898, the U.S.S. Maine blew up in Havana Harbor. War with Spain began, and the Presidio set up three camps for the expected personnel that were being recruited to fight against Spain. Although it took only four months to defeat Spain in Cuba, a larger war, the Philippine War, raged on until 1902. In June of 1899, a new hospital was built for the wounded from this war. It was dedicated May 23, 1901 and served 5,000 patients the first year. The facilities were named Letterman Hospital to honor an Army surgeon, Major Jonathan Letterman, who had served during the Civil War and later had become coroner for the city of San Francisco.

The devastating earthquake on April 18, 1906, displaced thousands of people from San Francisco. The Presidio immediately set up four camps on their grounds with tents, food distribution areas and sanitary facilities.

In 1915 and 1916, “Black Jack” Pershing led troops from the Presidio into Mexico to put a stop to Pancho Villa’s raids into the United States. And the April 6, 1917 declaration of war on Germany increased exponentially the need for a training ground for troops from the Presidio. A Motor Transportation Corps with trucks created the 6th Motor Command, and the look of war changed drastically. Over the next two years, Letterman Hospital saw 18,700 troops admitted to the medical facility. Another new and startling development occurred in July 1921, when Crissy Field opened. War was taking to the air. The field was named for Major Dana H. Crissy who had died in a plane crash Oct. 8, 1919. As airplanes grew bigger, however, the field was unable to handle them. By 1935, a larger airfield to the north, Hamilton Field, opened and Crissy Field was closed.

After Dec. 7, 1941, and the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Presidio became the center for war operations in the Pacific, and the post went into full operation until World War II ended. In 1946, the 6th Army, led by Gen. Joseph W. “Vinegar Joe” Stillwell, replaced the 4th Army. The 6th Army, now responsible for the ground defense of the western third of the United States, began operations out of the Presidio that same year.

For over 200 years, the Presidio existed to protect and defend in war and piece. It administered to the survivors of the April ’06 earthquake and as a refuge for the littlest survivors — over 1,300 babies and toddlers — flown out of Vietnam as Saigon fell in April of 1975. Units stationed at the Presidio provided medical care until all the children could be transferred to permanent homes.

By the 1970s, however, the original need for the Presidio had diminished and, in 1972, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area was established, with areas placed within the National Park Service. By 1988, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended the Presidio cease as an active military post. On Sept. 30, 1994, an Inactivation Ceremony was held to bring to a close 218 years of history, the longest continuously operated military base in the United States.

On Oct. 1, 1994, an official ceremony was held to transfer the Presidio to the National Park Service, which, together with the Presidio Trust, now manages most of the buildings and grounds. In 2003, Letterman Hospital was razed to make way for the new Letterman Digital Arts Center. In an effort to make the Presidio self-sustaining, many of the buildings are rented out, the revenue used for development and upkeep. A long journey from the time of the Ohlone.