Juana Briones de Miranda

Juana Briones de Miranda (1802-1889) was born near the Santa Cruz Mission, in California. Her parents arrived with the earliest explorations of this then remote fringe of the Spanish empire, and her family members had accompanied both the Gaspar de Portolà and the Juan Bautista de Anza Expeditions. She was the daughter of a Marcos Briones, a soldier posted near Monterey, who later moved to the San Francisco Presidio. She married a soldier, Apolinario Miranda, in 1820 and raised seven children plus an orphaned Indian girl. She later gained a clerical separation from her husband. After establishing a farm near the Presidio of San Francisco, Juana became a pioneer settler at Yerba Buena, the area of San Francisco which is today known as North Beach. On early maps this area was designated as Playa de Juana Briones (Juana Briones Beach). The area of North Beach presently known as Washington Square, San Francisco was at that time under her cultivation. A natural entrepreneur, she marketed her milk and produce to the sailors from whaling ships or those who arrived in port for the hide and tallow trade. Her pioneer status is commemorated by an historical plaque on the square.