Spanish and Mexican eras , established in 1770, was the headquarters of the
Californian mission system from 1797 until 1833. The first Europeans to see Carmel were mariners led by
Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo in 1542, who sailed up the California coast without landing. Sixty years later Spanish explorer
Sebastián Vizcaíno landed in what is now known as Carmel Valley in 1602. It is thought that he named the river running through the valley Rio Carmelo in honor of the three
Carmelite friars serving as chaplains for the voyage. The Spanish began to colonize the area in 1770, when
Gaspar de Portolá, along with
Franciscan priests
Junípero Serra and
Juan Crespí, visited the area in search of a
mission site. Portolà and Crespí traveled by land while Serra traveled with supplies aboard ship, arriving eight days later. The colony of Monterey was established at the same time as the second mission in
Alta California and soon became the capital of California, remaining so until 1849. From the late 18th through the early 19th century most of the
Ohlone population died from European diseases (against which they had no immunity), as well as overwork and malnutrition at the missions where the Spanish forced them to live.
Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo was founded on June 3, 1770, in the nearby settlement of
Monterey, but was relocated to
Carmel Valley by
Junípero Serra due to interactions between soldiers stationed at the nearby
Presidio and the native Indians. In December 1771, a stockade of approximately 130×200 feet became the new Mission Carmel. Simple buildings made of plastered mud served as the first church and dwellings until a structure was built of wood from nearby pine and cypress trees to withstand the seasonal rains. This was also a temporary church until a permanent stone building was constructed. When Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821, Carmel became
Mexican territory.
Early American era in 1839 Carmel became part of the United States in 1848, when Mexico ceded California as a result of the
Mexican–American War. In the 1850s, "Rancho Las Manzanitas", the area that was to become Carmel-by-the-Sea, was purchased by French businessman
Honoré Escolle. Escolle, well known and prosperous in the City of Monterey, owned the first commercial bakery, pottery kiln and brickworks in Central California. William Martin of
Scotland arrived in Monterey in 1856 by ship with his family. His son,
John Martin (1827–1893), bought land around the
Carmel River from Lafayette F. Loveland in 1859. He built the Martin Ranch on that went as far as the Carmel River to the homes along Carmel-by-the-Sea. The ranch became known as the
Mission Ranch because it was so close to the Carmel Mission. They farmed potatoes and barley and had a milk dairy.
Abbie Jane Hunter, founder of the San Francisco-based Women's Real Estate Investment Company, first used the name "Carmel-by-the-Sea" on a promotional postcard. The Carmel post office opened the same year. In 1899, Fritz Schweninger opened the first bakery on Ocean Avenue, called the
Carmel Bakery. In 1910, the
Carnegie Institution established the Coastal Laboratory, and a number of scientists moved to the area. In 1905, the
Carmel Arts and Crafts Club was formed to support and produce artistic works. Following the
1906 San Francisco earthquake, an influx of artists, writers, musicians and other creative people escaped the disaster for Carmel. The new residents were offered home lots with a ten-dollar down payment, little or no interest, and whatever they could afford to pay monthly. In 1906, the
San Francisco Call devoted a full page to the "artists, writers and poets at Carmel-by-the-Sea." The Carmel Arts and Crafts Club held exhibitions, lectures, dances, and produced plays and recitals at numerous locations, including the
Pine Inn Hotel, before purchasing a lot on Casanova Street, where they built a clubhouse in 1907. ,
Mary Austin,
Jack London, and
Jimmie Hopper at Carmel Beach, c. 1905. In 1911, Carmel began a tradition of presenting plays by Shakespeare with a production of
Twelfth Night, directed by Garnet Holme of UC Berkeley and featuring future mayors Perry Newberry and Herbert Heron.
Twelfth Night was again presented in 1940 at Heron's inaugural Carmel Shakespeare Festival, and was repeated in 1942 and 1956. As part of Carmel's involvement in the Exposition, the
Junipero Serra or The Padres performance from the
Forest Theater took place on July 30–31, 1915, within the Court of the Universe. This pageant, written and directed by
Perry Newberry, was a tribute to Father
Junipero Serra and featured prominent citizens of Carmel in its cast, such as
Frederick R. Bechdolt and
Grant Wallace. Around twenty-five thousand individuals attended these performances. , founded in 1913, is one of Carmel's oldest establishments. Carmel incorporated in 1916. The City of Carmel purchased the Flanders Mansion and adjoining in 1972, from the Flanders heirs for US$275,000 (). It has become part of the Mission Trail Nature Preserve. In 1932, the city developed the Devendorf Park that occupies the block of Ocean Avenue and Junipero Street. The city park is Carmel's central gathering place for outdoor events. ==Geography==