Serra raises a cross on Presidio Hill; Spain plants its first foothold in Alta California

By the summer of 1769, Spain, wary of Russian exploration and potential claims along the Pacific coast, sought to secure its hold on California by establishing missions and presidios there. On July 16, Father Junípero Serra raised a cross on Presidio Hill overlooking San Diego Bay, founding Mission San Diego de Alcalá near the Kumeyaay village of Kosa'aay. Soldiers fired their guns as makeshift incense for the ceremony. It became the first permanent European settlement in Alta California and the seed of a city that still carries the mission's name…