Under the giant redwood known as El Palo Alto, Portola and his party camped from November 6 to 11, 1769, during the expedition that discovered San Francisco Bay. The site served as the assembling point for their reconnoitering parties. In 1774 Padre Palou erected a cross here to mark the site of a proposed mission, which was later built at Santa Clara. Pedro Font's celebrated topographical map of 1776 included a drawing of the original double-trunked tree, making El Palo Alto the first official living California landmark.
