Editing San Juan Bautista, California (section)

===Mexican period===
[[File:Casa de Anza 4250 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|[[Juan de Anza House|Casa Juan de Anza]], built in 1830, is the oldest residence in San Juan.]]
In 1821, Mexico [[Mexican War of Independence|revolted]] against Spain, winning independence for itself, and making California a province of the newly independent [[Mexico]]. By 1834, a town known as San Juan de Castro had sprouted up around the mission. It drew its name from the town's prominent ''[[alcalde]]'' José Tiburcio Castro. In 1834 the mission was [[Secularization|secularized]], and Castro appointed executor of the property. Accordingly, he divided and auctioned off the former mission properties. His son, [[José Castro]], built the Castro Adobe on the south side of the Plaza de San Juan in 1840; however, Castro's frequent involvement in government kept him from spending much time there. Castro was a key member of the overthrow of governors [[Nicolás Gutiérrez]] in 1836 and [[Manuel Micheltorena]] in 1844.
[[File:San Juan Bautista, California (c. 1856).jpg|thumb|left|View of San Juan Bautista in 1856.]]
After defeating Micheltorena and his ill-equipped army, José Antonio Castro was appointed Comandante General of California, in charge of the [[Mexican Army]]'s operations in California. From San Juan Bautista, Castro ordered the army against potential foreign incursions. He kept especially close watch over the movements of [[John C. Frémont]], an American military officer who had been let into California to conduct a survey of the interior. Though given explicit instructions to stay away from coastal settlements, Frémont soon broke the agreement by taking his team to [[Monterey, California|Monterey]], a potential military target. When Castro told Frémont he would have to leave the country, the situation came close to war when he obstinately refused to leave and instead set up a base on [[Gavilán Peak]], overlooking the town of San Juan. However, fighting was avoided and Frémont, grudgingly, withdrew.