Established in 1797, the Villa de Branciforte – located in the modern city of Santa Cruz, CA (across the river from the mission) – was supposed to be a retirement town for the Catalan Volunteers.

The plans were quite ambitious – utopian even (according to some historians). Following decades of military service on the edge of the known world, these service men would be rewarded with everything that they and their families needed. They would get a large, solidly-built adobe house along with land, in a functioning community.

Reality turned out to be sharply different. The volunteers, upon arrival, were told to construct their own houses with limited tools and resources. While wood and stone were nearby, the San Lorenzo river banks were considerable and made acquisition of water more challenging.

The military men did not take well to the idea of agriculture and wanted workers brought into the town for that purpose. All in all it did not make for a relaxing retirement life.

By 1806, of the original six Catalan Volunteers for whom the government created Branciforte, only three remained with their families. (1)

The volunteers dispersed among the other settlements in California. Still wanting a civilian settlement in that area, the Spanish government turned to another source for people. Instead of housing retired soldiers, “Branciforte eventually wound up as a kind of Botany Bay for men convicted of petty crimes.” (2) The punishment for committing crimes was to stay in California longer and develop a ramshackle town.

References:

1. McDonnell, Jeanne Farr. Juana Briones of 19th Century California. The University of Arizona Press. 2008. p 36.
2. Starr, Kevin. California. Modern Library. 2005. p 37.