The first inhabitants of the San Francisco area arrived around 3000 B.C. By the 16th century, when the first Europeans sailed along the California coast (always missing the Golden Gate due to fog), the area was inhabited by the Ohlone-speaking Yelamu tribe. The first westerners to see the bay were members of the 1769 Portola expedition. Seven years later, Juan Bautiza de Anza marched north from San Diego with a settlement party to establish a Spanish presidio and mission. By 1808 Mission San Francisco de Asis was the center of spiritual and material life for more than 1,000 neophytes drawn from local tribes.
