San Leandro Portals to Past History for Fun

In the last post we covered the spilt of the land grant between Castro and Estudillo but there was a 3 rd area left alone to the Native Americans, the Costanoan, who lived in the hills above Fairmont Hospital.  Archeologists have found the remains of shellmounds and burial grounds.  (When I was growing up the area was off limits but we would sneak up there to look at the area.)  Studies have revealed at least ten archeological sites between the north fork of San Leandro Creek and San Lorenzo Creek.  Three of these were on the banks of the inlets in the Marina Area, one at Oakland Airport, four along the north side of the reek and one on San Lorenzo Creek.   The largest was Fairmont. Since the “Indian lands” exempted from Castro and Estudillo grants the borders and other lands on the fringe of Estudillo lands were not clearly defined they provided an excuse for squatters to encroach upon both grants disregarding the rights of any Indians still in the ...