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4-1 4. SAN MATEO COUNTY PROFILE San Mateo County covers 455 square miles over four regions: North County, South County, Mid-County, and the Coastside. The county is bounded on the north by San Francisco City and County, on the east by San Francisco Bay, on the south by Santa Clara County and Santa Cruz County, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. The dense urbanization of the Bayside stands in marked contrast to the agricultural areas, parks and preserves, and undeveloped lands of the rural Coastside region. The planning area is shown in Figure 4-1. 4.1 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW The area that is now San Mateo County was first inhabited by the Ramaytush subdivision of the Ohlone people of the central and northern California coast. After Mexico seceded from Spain in 1822, California became a territory of Mexico in 1824. Mexican governors of California granted the land encompassing current San Mateo County to soldiers and political allies. During Mexican times, foreigners from the United States and elsewhere began settling in the San Mateo area. Mexico ceded California to the United States through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, and the discovery of gold in California caused an influx of new settlers through 1852. When San Mateo County officially became a county in 1856, splitting from San Francisco County, development in San Mateo County halted, as economic development was focused on the north. The isolation was particularly felt in coastal areas of the county, where geological features made development difficult. Efforts to draw the coastal area out of isolation in the late 1800s and early 1900s by constructing the Ocean Shore Railroad came to a halt with the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, when 4,000 feet of rails, along with engines, railroad cars and construction equipment, ended up in the ocean. It was two years before this section of the coast rails was rebuilt. On the bayside of the county, the 1906 earthquake created a new middle class, as earthquake survivors relocated to San Mateo County for more affordable housing and a stable commute via a newly established streetcar. Ten new towns were established between 1908 and 1927, and in 1928, the San Francisco Bureau of Governmental Research identified San Mateo County’s bayside as an area for future industrial growth. The San Francisco Peninsula experienced substantial growth during World War II and the post-war periods as the military invested in defense projects and military installations around the area. After World War II, many veterans previously stationed in the area decided to settle in San Mateo County. Most of the resulting population increase occurred on the bayside. The County’s population grew to 236,000 by 1950, to 444,000 by 1960, and to 557,000 by 1970 (National Park Service, 2010).