On April 13, 1776, Spanish missionary and explorer Francisco Hermenegildo Tomás Garcés entered the Santa Clarita Valley while searching for a shorter inland route from Sonora, Mexico, to Monterey, California. Father Francisco Hermenegildo Tomás Garcés was born on April 12, 1738, in north-central Spain.  He joined the Franciscan Order about 1758 and was ordained a priest in 1763 in Spain. ...

On this day in 1738, Father Francisco Garcés was born. From 1768 to 1776, he explored the Spanish-controlled American west, including the Santa Clarita Valley. Father Francisco Hermenegildo Tomás Garcés was born on April 12, 1738, in north-central Spain.  He joined the Franciscan Order about 1758 and was ordained a priest in 1763 in Spain. In 1768, Garcés left for ...