Ballast Point Whaling Station

Ballast Point Whaling Station Site

Naval Base Point Loma - Ballast Point

San Diego, CA 92106

(Near Building #601)

 

Another great historic site located on Naval Base Point Loma - Ballast Point in San Diego is the site of the Ballast Point Whaling Station. Whaling operations began on Ballast Point in 1857, when the three Johnson brothers and the twin Packard brothers came to this site to survey possibilities for a station to 'try out' or extract whale oil. Their operations began the next year. In 1869 the U.S. Government acquired the property for Fort Rosecrans and in 1873 whaling operations at Ballast Point ended. Archaeological digs on the site have uncovered remnants of the two 150-gallon cast iron cauldrons and brick ovens that were used to boil whale oil.

 

Below is a link to the San Diego History Center website with more information on Ballast Point Whaling Station, along with some photos that I took during a recent visit:

 

http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/86spring/dogholes.htm

 

MW

 

Fort Rosecrans

Fort Rosecrans Marker

Naval Base Point Loma - Ballast Point

San Diego, CA 92106

(Near Building #601)

Fort Rosecrans was a U.S. Army base that was located on present day Naval Base Point Loma. The land upon which Fort Rosecrans was built was set aside by American President Millard Fillmore in 1852 for military purposes. The area was later assigned to the U.S. Army, and named Fort Rosecrans in 1899. The fort was named after Union Civil War General and congressman from California William S. Rosecrans. In 1898 the Army built a coast artillery installation on the site which remained active until 1945. In 1932, the site of Fort Rosecrans was registered as California Historical Landmark. In 1959 Fort Rosecrans was turned over to the U.S. Navy.

Below is a link to the San Diego History Center website where you can read more about the history of Fort Rosecrans. I also posted a couple photos that I took of the Fort Rosecrans marker during a recent visit to San Diego:

https://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/59october/fortrosecrans.htm

MW

Fort Guijarros

Fort Guijarros Site

Naval Base Point Loma - Ballast Point

San Diego, CA 92106

(Next to Building #601)

While visiting family in San Diego, CA, I had the opportunity to see a little southern California history. Markers dedicated to an early Spanish fort in California, Fort Guijarros, are currently located on Naval Base Point Loma. Naval Base Point Loma is arguably one of the most beautiful military duty stations in the nation. The land upon which Fort Guijarros once stood not only provides a great water front view, but it also saw a great deal of early European and American history in San Diego. 

Below is a write up on Fort Guijarros from the Fort Guijarros Museum Foundation website, along with photos that I took during my recent visit to San Diego:

"The Legacy of Fort Guijarros

The ruins of Fort Guijarros, San Diego's Old Spanish Fort, symbolize a shared legacy between modern Spain and the United States that everyone can enjoy. This legacy remains as a reminder of Spain's dominion over California during the eighteenth century. By that time the Spanish empire ranged from Mexico to the southern third of the current United States.

As Spanish explorers colonized California with a network of religious missions and military presidios, threats of war with England and Russia in the 1790s also spurred the Spanish crown to fund a system of coastal fortifications in California. Spain's successful system of defense included fortifications at rivers and harbors, regional forts that ringed fortified cities, as well as fortlets and cannon batteries.

San Diego's defense scheme centered on its "fortified city," known as "The Royal Presidio." The outer defense was "Fort Guijarros," a cannon battery located on Ballast Point at the entrance to San Diego Bay. Archaeological excavations by the Fort Guijarros Museum Foundation reveal that the fort's massive walls were twenty feet thick and fronted by a sloping mound of cobbles. Historical records indicate that the fort boasted at least ten cannons mounted high to overlook the fort's sloping walls.

Fort Guijarros was designed by Alberto de Cordoba, a Spanish engineer who oversaw the fort's construction by forty-nine Native American laborers.  Completed in November of 1796, the fort later became known as Fort Guijarros - "Guijarros" means small cobblestones, an apt term for the abundant ballast stones found on Ballast Point.

They Came to Defend San Diego

History singles out the soldiers of Fort Guijarros for two dramatic battles fought in defense of Spain's newly acquired territory. On March 22, 1803 the "Battle of San Diego Bay" pitted the American brig Lelia Byrd against the Spanish soldiers of Fort Guijarros. This event is the only ship-to-shore battle on the Pacific Coast between Spain and a ship of the United States.

Caught attempting to smuggle sea otter pelts out of San Diego Bay in violation of Spain's blockade against foreign trade, the Americans and Spaniards exchanged a spectacular cannon duel across the waves. With only minor damage, the crew of the Lelia Byrd escaped serious injury when favorable winds escorted them away from the line of fire.

In 1828, six years after Spain surrendered control of California to Mexico, the American ship Franklin dueled a similar battle at Fort Guijarros with the newly installed Mexican army. Caught in the act of illegal trade, the captain of the Franklin sustained injuries from the fort's cannon fire, but no deaths were suffered in the exchange.

Then Came The Yankee Whalers

Mariners bound for the South Pacific first began visiting San Diego in the 1820s. Brothers Alphaeus and Prince William Packard arrived in San Diego in 1857 and began shore whaling from Ballast Point in 1858. These Portuguese-Americans were joined by people of African, Irish, Asian, Spanish, Mexican, as well as English and New England American heritage.

Before long, Ballast Point became a major whaling station served by camps in Baja California. Packard's sloop, "New Hope", shipped whale oil and supplies; the oil was sold in San Francisco. Chinese fisher folk also lived with the whalers on Ballast Point. Ah Low cooked for the Packards in 1870 and Juk and Ah Sing sold fish all around San Diego.

In the 19th century, whale oil served as the primary lighting fuel in America; baleen "whale bone" served as the "spring steel" for tools and clothing. In San Diego, whaling developed into a major industry and the whaler's camps and a sight-seeing attraction for the local residents.

At the height of whale oil production in 1873 however, the American government evicted the whalers from Ballast Point. Point Loma had been selected by the U.S. Congress to become a major artillery fort.

American Military Years

The United States government has controlled Point Loma and Ballast Point since 1873. Following the eviction of the whaling companies from Ballast Point, the U.S. Government began to develop "Fort San Diego," a huge artillery bunker on Ballast Point. Shortly thereafter, Europe designed artillery shells that could penetrate brick walls. Fort San Diego closed in 1874 and the partially completed bunker was abandoned.

In 1898, American soldiers returned to Ballast Point to build "Fort Rosecrans." During the Spanish American War in that year, the U.S. Army sewed mines in San Diego Harbor. Between 1898 and 1918, the military constructed huge artillery batteries in the canyons off Point Loma. Underground tunnels connected l0-inch diameter rifled cannons and munition bunkers.

During the First World War, the Coast Artillery Corps developed a complicated system of search lights, communication lines, and cross-fire artillery to defend San Diego Harbor. The Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 resulted in closure of Fort Rosecrans in 1923 and the soldiers transferred to Washington state.

Fort Rosecrans became a tourist attraction through the Great Depression of the 1930s. By 1939, Congress began to rebuild America's defenses. When war broke out on December 7, 1941, the Point Loma radio station served as the only communication link with the western Pacific. A new U.S. Army used Fort Rosecrans to train soldiers for war in Europe and the Pacific. Fort Rosecrans was decommissioned after victory in Europe and the Pacific in 1945. The U.S. Navy built the Submarine Base on Ballast Point in 1962. The old Fort Rosecrans buildings are now administrative offices for the U.S. Navy.

Unraveling the Mystery

Since 1981, researchers from the Fort Guijarros Museum Foundation, through the generous support and permission of the United States Navy, have excavated what remains of the Old Spanish Fort. Located on what is now the United States Naval Submarine Base, San Diego, the fort has been the focus of archaeologists who have sifted through 150 years of history layered under a modern parking lot. These layers tell a fascinating story, revealing that the ruined fort was buried by debris from Yankee whaling companies, which used Ballast Point for their fishing industries in the nineteenth century.

Today, the Fort Guijarros Museum Foundation functions to excavate the ruins and promote the history of Ballast Point as well as Spain's legacy in the United States. The Museum Foundation's all-volunteer excavations and research continue in search of more clues to better understand the mystery of Fort Guijarros." (http://www.fortguijarros.com/History.html)

 

MW



Happy Birthday PT-42!

Today would have been Pat Tillman's 38th birthday.

As an Arizona State University alumni and U.S. Army veteran, I see it fitting that my first official blog entry is in dedication to one of ASU's legends and a national hero.

Here is Tillman's bio from the Pat Tillman Foundation website:

"Patrick Tillman was born to parents Mary and Patrick on November 6, 1976, in San Jose, California. The oldest of three boys, Pat was a caring and protective brother and a natural leader with a tendency to push limits – in life, the classroom and on the field.

At Leland High School in San Jose, California (1990-1994), that challenger mentality would become his signature. His diligence and relentless curiosity amazed almost everyone he came into contact with. In high school he was a star who led his high school team to a Central Coast Division I Football Championship – after he was told he was too small to ever play football.

Arizona State University recognized Pat’s potential both in classroom and on field with a scholarship to play for the Sun Devils. What Pat lacked in physical size he more than made up for in intensity as linebacker. He led ASU to the 1997 Rose Bowl after an undefeated season, earned three consecutive selections to the Pac-10 All-Academic Football Team, a 1st team Academic All-American honor, as well as the NCAA’s Post-Graduate Scholarship for academic and athletic excellence. Between games, Pat earned a B.S. in Marketing, graduating Summa Cum Laude from ASU’s prestigious W.P. Carey School of Business, in three and a half years.

Pat gained admiration and high regards from his professors, coaches and fans alike. “You don’t find guys that have that combination of being as bright and as tough as him,” remarked his ASU coach. The Arizona Cardinals agreed, and selected Pat in the 7th round of the 1998 NFL Draft. Many people doubted his ability to deliver as a starter on the Cardinal’s opening-day roster. He answered that skepticism by becoming the team’s starting safety and broke the franchise record for tackles in 2000 with 224.

Pat’s NFL success did not go to his head or break his principles. He still drove to games in the same beat up truck he had in college. He had no cell-phone. Instead he chose to read voraciously and develop, debate, and discuss his ideas with eager listeners, family and friends. He made your passion his passion. In the off-season he challenged himself physically with marathons and half-Ironman triathlons while pursuing a Master’s degree in history from his alma mater. He volunteered with Boys and Girls Clubs, the March of Dimes, and read and talked to students in schools across the Phoenix Valley.

The day after the attacks of September 11, 2001, Pat told a reporter, “At times like this you stop and think about just how good we have it, what kind of system we live in, and the freedoms we are allowed. A lot of my family has gone and fought in wars and I really haven’t done a damn thing.”

In the spring of 2002, Pat married his high school love, Marie, and upon his return from their honeymoon, announced to the Cardinals he had decided to place his NFL career on hold to enlist in the U.S. Army with his brother, Kevin. The decision shocked many and garnered national media attention despite his refusal to speak publicly about the choice.

'Pat knew his purpose in life,” Dave McGinnis, former Arizona Cardinals head-coach said. “He proudly walked away from a career in football to a greater calling.'

Pat and Kevin joined the U.S. Army that July, committing to a three-year term. They were assigned to the second battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment in Fort Lewis, Washington. They served tours in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, and in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom in 2004. On the evening of April 22, 2004, Pat’s unit was ambushed as it traveled through the rugged, canyon terrain of eastern Afghanistan. His heroic efforts to provide cover for fellow soldiers as they escaped from the canyon led to his untimely and tragic death via fratricide.

While the story of Pat’s death may have been the most publicized in the War on Terror, it is Pat’s life, principles and service that are his true legacy. Pat’s family and friends started the Pat Tillman Foundation to carry forward that legacy by giving military veterans and spouses who embody those principles the educational tools and support to reach their fullest potential as leaders, no matter how they choose to serve." (http://pattillmanfoundation.org/)

Happy birthday Pat.

Rest in peace.

MW