Imagine California today without any remnants of its Spanish and Mexican past. That almost happened until a group of determined women took action to preserve the state's Hispanic heritage. At the turn of the 20th century, the historic El Camino Real trail connecting the California missions was crumbling into disrepair and faced being lost forever.

Enter Anna Pitcher, a civic leader who launched an ambitious plan to designate and mark the ancient route for the automobile age. Joined by leading women's clubs like the General Federation of Women's Clubs, Pitcher and her successors spent decades advocating and physically marking El Camino Real with the now iconic bell markers.

Their efforts were not without opposition, as some saw the missions as odious symbols of colonialism. But the women persisted, mapping El Camino Real and installing bells from San Diego to Sonoma. Their pioneering work preserved an indelible touchstone of California's diverse origins that residents and visitors can still enjoy today.

Learn more:

• Book: California’s El Camino Real and its Historic Bells
• Book: California Vieja: Culture and Memory in a Modern American Place

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Contact:
damian@californiafrontier.net