Summary
Though archeology shows signs of Native American and prehistoric inhabitants, they were long gone when, on September 28, 1542, Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo and his crew landed on Point Loma raising the spanish flag. After six days of exploration, Rodríguez Cabrillo named the Port "San Miguel Bay" and set sail.

Around 1796 the Spanish built a small adobe fort on "Punta de los Guijarros" ("Point of the cobblestones"), modern Ballast Point, Point Loma. It served in two battles against american smugglers in 1803 and 1828. Later, ironically, abandoned guns from the fort came to be used by American forces in 1848 during the Mexican American war.

By the 1800's Point Loma began to take some of the shape we might recognize today. In 1852 President Fillmore set aside a large portion of Point Loma for military use. In 1855 a Lighthouse on Point Loma was established to serve the entrance to San Diego Bay. Then, in 1858 a whaling station was built on Ballast Point next to a chinese fishing camp. It's this whaling station that brought the men of Portugal as well as New Zealand, Australia, Africa, England, South Pacific, and all over the world to Point Loma. But it would be the Portuguese whose imagination would most be captured by Point Loma.

The Portuguese settlement of Point Loma began in the 1880's in the "La Playa" area. By the 1920's there was a robust settlement of Portugese fishermen and families. By the 1930's San Diego was fondly known as the "Tuna Capital of the World". By the 1940's the tuna clippers in San Diego where mostly controlled by the Portuguese of Point Loma and brought the San Diego economy an estimated 30 million dollars per year.

By the 1980's the fishing industry, mostly tuna, began a fast decline. Though international competion is sometimes cited, "environmental awareness" caused the passing of laws making it nearly impossible for the industry to continue.

(more to follow shortly)

· Prehistoric
Archeology shows that roughly between 3510 and 1550 years ago Ballast Point had a robust shark fishing industry and hunting focused on sea mammals and birds.

-Beginning of "Modern" history-


· 1797- Early Development: Fort Guijarros


· 1852- Land Set Aside For Military Use


· 1959- Fort Rosecrans Turned Over to the Navy


· 1963- Navy Submarine Support Facility Established


· 1995- Naval Downsizing


· 1998- Navy Consolidates