San Diego 1876

Carleton Watkins made this albumen print, “San Diego,” sometime in the late 19th century. It captures a moment of rapid westward expansion in the United States. The image shows San Diego as an outpost on the edge of the continent, with modest homes and fences charting a new, ordered landscape. Watkins's photographs, however, played a crucial role in promoting settlement and resource extraction. The images were commissioned by railroad companies and other commercial interests eager to showcase the West's potential, and these visual documents served as powerful tools for shaping public perception and attracting investment. To fully understand the complex history of this photograph, we have to consider sources beyond the image itself. Land records, census data, and company archives can reveal the network of economic and political forces that shaped not only the landscape of San Diego, but also the very act of its representation. The image becomes a window onto a larger story of American expansion.