Peoples of San Rafael Arcángel: Ohlone, Spanish, Mexicans, Americans

The San Rafael Arcángel area (Marin County, CA) saw successive populations:

1. Ohlone (Coast Miwok): Original inhabitants (“Huimen”); hunter-gatherers with rich culture. Decimated by introduced diseases.
2. Spanish (1775–1821): Founded Mission San Rafael Arcángel as a hospital asistencia; converted Ohlone, introduced European agriculture.
3. Mexicans (1821–1848): Secularized mission lands (1834), displacing Ohlone, distributing ranchos.
4. Americans (1848–present): Post-Mexican-American War; further land loss, agricultural development, urbanization. Few Ohlone remain.

Place names and cultural traces preserve the Ohlone legacy.