A Portuguese explorer sailing under the Spanish flag discovered Ensenada on September 17, 1542. Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo named the area San Mateo. It remained San Mateo for 60 years. In 1602 Spanish captain and explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno rediscovered the area. He renamed it Ensenada de Todos Los Santos Ensenada: Its Background, Founding and Early Development was written by Maria Eugenia Bonifaz de Novelo and published by the San Diego Historical Society in 1984. She elaborates on the influencial roles of historical notables like Father Junípero Serra, The Dominicans, Alferez José Manuel Ruiz and Francisco Gastelum. Remember that as recent as 1848 and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, there was no difference between Baja California, Mexico and what is now the US state of California.

Sawday's Ensenada Motor Garage, about 1920. Photo courtesy of the author and Carlos Gallegas.	The old Ensenada Customshouse about 1920. The railway extended all the way into the pier. Photo courtesy of the author and Carlos Gallegas.

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