Little Known Tales in San Francisco History

San Francisco grew from a tiny burg of 1,000 persons in 1848 to its present-day population of 825,863. The city was founded in 1776 when Spain built a fort at the site of Golden Gate Park. After World War II, San Francisco became a magnet for America’s counter-culture. Hippies flocked to Haight-Ashbury in 1960 and peaked out with the Summer of Love in 1967. San Francisco’s China Town is the oldest and largest in North America. The city’s famous cable cars carry riders up and down the steep inclines and to Fisherman’s Wharf below. People watch as the fishermen bring in their daily catches each day at the piers of Fisherman’s Wharf.. There’s little that can’t be found in San Francisco. The city’s ethnic makeup is diverse. It’s made up of whites, Asians, Afro-Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics. San Francisco has developed an international character that began with its founding and continues today.