Pozo San Francisquito

Named originally ‘San Francisco’ this natural water source was an important stop for travelers on El Camino Real, the mission road. Junípero Serra gave its name in his diary of the expedition from Loreto to San Diego, on May 4, 1769:

 

Serra’s spelling is different than modern versions. Calomofue=Calamajué; Caxon=Cajon; and Vila Catha=Velicatá (future site of Mission San Fernando)

A 1792 road log of El Camino Real, includes San Francisco (a place with water) midway between Calamajué and Santa María. In Side Trip No. 9: Río de San Francisco = Arroyo San Francisquito/ Arroyo Las Arrastras:

The waterhole of San Francisquito provided the name for the arroyo it is in, which flows to the gulf at the Ensenada de San Francisquito (usually called ‘Gonzaga Bay’ along with the true bay of that name, to its north). The topo maps today call the arroyo ‘Las Arrastras’. The gold mill near Punta Final called ‘Molino de Lacy’ (sometime after 1897 when William Lacy, its founder, died), was originally called Molino de San Francisquito. The gold was sent out from the bay at today’s Punta Final Resort, but was then known as Puerto de San Francisquito. The gold came from the Mina de San Francisquito, which later was known as the Pioneer Mine.

In 1906, Arthur North describes the site in his 1910 Camp and Camino in Lower California, page 96:

San Franciscito [sic], or “Little San Francisco,” lying on the southern edge of these plains (Llanos de Santa María), proved, though located on the map, to be nothing but a few old arastras [sic], a small mining shaft and a waterhole from which we were driven in disgust by the presence of a dead coyote.

In 1954, Howard Gulick created a document to describe the route of El Camino Real. Here are his comments about this location:

Another translation of Serra’s diary simply says “early” and not “good and early.” There is a valid question if Serra actually slept at San Francisco or closer to Santa María, because he arrives there at 8:30 am. The hike up the “Cajon” canyon to the mission is very difficult, taking 6 hours for modern travelers. From the mouth of the canyon, that is 7 miles. That, plus the 13 more miles (4 hours min.) from San Francisco/ Francisquito, makes it hard to imaging he began there, 20 miles (10 hours) from the mission. 

Photograph from Howard Gulick, in 1959 at one of the pools at San Francisquito.
Photograph by Dave W. in 2025 is a close match.
Photograph by David Kier just few more feet back, to see the distant hills.
Sitting on the same rock as the person in 1959, Dave W. was responsible for finding the same spot on May 11, 2025.
The waterhole in 2025 was about two hundred feet south of the 1959 photograph location.

Howard Gulick’s map of 1958, from the Lower California Guidebook:

Two more 1959 Howard Gulick photographs at San Francisquito:

 

Satellite image with points of discussion.  The pin on the highway is the Km. 179 post. Coco’s (new) Corner is just off the lower right corner, at Km. 179.5.

 

Ruins on the west bank of the arroyo. Perhaps from an early mining camp remains Howard Gulick saw in1952.   

Maps showing the waterhole of San Francisco or San Francisquito

1888:

 

1899:

 

1919:

 

1954:

1958:

 

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