SOC 902 • California History
Monterey:
Historic Capital of California
Explore Monterey's remarkable role in the development of California through Native history, Spanish and Mexican California, missions, presidios, historic landmarks, statehood, and the people who shaped California's first capital.
Discover the City That Helped Shape California
Explore Monterey as a crossroads of Native, Spanish, Mexican, and American history and discover why this small coastal community played such an important role in the development of California.
SOC 902 examines Monterey's historic importance from the settlement of Alta California through the Constitutional Convention of 1849. You will learn about the Rumsen people, Gaspar de Portolá, Father Junípero Serra, Mission San Carlos Borromeo, the Royal Presidio Chapel, the Presidio, and the people and events that connected Monterey to California's changing political identity.
The course also explores the Custom House, Larkin House, Sherman Quarters, California's First Theater, Pacific House, Colton Hall, the hide and tallow industry, the Gold Rush, and other historic places. Oral histories, photographs, videos, readings, primary sources, and digital applications help turn historical content into classroom-ready learning.
Explore Historic Monterey
Historic buildings and sites provide tangible connections to the people, cultures, governments, and events that shaped early California.
Carmel Mission
Examine Mission San Carlos Borromeo, Junípero Serra, restoration, and the mission's role in early California.
Royal Presidio Chapel
Explore Monterey's presidio history and one of the community's most significant surviving historic institutions.
Custom House
Investigate trade, government, international connections, and Monterey's transition to American control.
Colton Hall
Explore the site of California's 1849 Constitutional Convention and its importance to statehood.
Larkin House
Examine Monterey's architectural and political history through one of its most recognizable historic homes.
Pacific House
Discover a landmark connected to Monterey's commercial, civic, and cultural development.
First Theater
Explore one of Monterey's many historic "firsts" and its role in California's cultural development.
Presidio
Investigate military history, settlement, defense, and Monterey's strategic importance in Alta California.
What You'll Explore
Examine Monterey through multiple historical perspectives while connecting people and places to the larger story of California.
Native California
Study the Rumsen people, Native customs, cultural change, and treatment during Spanish, Mexican, and American periods.
Missions & Presidios
Examine the settlement of Alta California, Carmel Mission, the Presidio, and the people connected to their development.
Government & Statehood
Explore Monterey's role as California's historic capital and the Constitutional Convention of 1849.
Trade, Gold & Change
Investigate the hide and tallow trade, international commerce, the Gold Rush, and changing economic life.
A Six-Module Journey Through Monterey
Each module combines historical content with digital resources and practical projects that can support teaching and learning.
Module 1
Teaching History in the 21st Century
Explore technology and history instruction while creating a course blog that becomes a home for your learning and resources.
Module 2
Portolá Cross
Study early exploration and settlement, Gaspar de Portolá, Junípero Serra, and the beginnings of Spanish Monterey.
Module 3
Carmel Mission
Examine Mission San Carlos Borromeo and its restoration while building a digital historical timeline.
Module 4
Royal Presidio & Presidio Museum
Explore Monterey's presidio history while curating books and online historical resources for future classroom use.
Module 5
Historic Monterey
Explore the Custom House, Monterey's historic firsts, Larkin House, Sherman Quarters, and the American possession of California while creating a Google Earth project.
Module 6
Colton Hall & Primary Sources
Investigate Colton Hall, Native experiences, and California's Constitutional Convention while creating a primary-source lesson plan.
Build Resources While You Learn
Course projects combine Monterey history with digital learning tools and instructional design so your work can continue to support your classroom.
Course Blog
Create a digital space for historical content, reflection, and resources.
Historical Timeline
Organize important people, events, and changes into a visual chronology.
GoodReads Bookshelf
Curate literature that can support California history instruction.
Padlet Resource Collection
Organize useful historical websites and digital resources in one accessible location.
Google Earth Mapping
Connect Monterey's historical sites to geography through an interactive digital project.
Primary Source Lesson
Create a standards-based lesson using primary sources to promote historical thinking.
Learn Through Places, Voices & Historical Evidence
Course content is presented through historical readings, photographs, oral-history interviews, videos, historic sites, primary sources, and online resources.
These resources provide multiple perspectives on Monterey's past while giving you materials and approaches that can support historical inquiry with your own students.
Required Course Text
Monterey:
Presidio, Pueblo and Port
The required text must be acquired separately. Additional readings, journal articles, videos, oral histories, photographs, and online resources are incorporated throughout the course.
California History Certificate
This Course Can Be Part of Something Bigger
SOC 902 is one of the Fresno Pacific University courses applicable toward the California History Certificate. Educators can combine this course with other qualifying California history courses to work toward the certificate.
Deepen your understanding of Monterey and its remarkable role in California's development.
Engage with historic sites, Native history, missions, presidios, primary sources, photographs, and oral histories.
Transform course learning into digital resources and standards-based learning experiences for your students.
Ready to Begin?
Discover Historic Monterey.
Enroll through Fresno Pacific University's Center for Professional Development and explore the people, places, cultures, and events that made Monterey one of the most important communities in California history.