Telegraph Hill

San Francisco County · Telegraph Hill, San Francisco · location approximate

A signal station was erected on Telegraph Hill in 1849 from which to observe the incoming vessels. A tall pole on which were movable arms was used to signal to the people in the town below whether sailing vessels or the sidewheel vessels of the Pacific mail were passing through the Golden Gate. In September 1853, the first telegraph in California was stationed here, extending eight miles to Point Lobos. This is what gave the hill its name.

1971 register text, presented as a historical document. It uses the period's terms for Native people; the state's landmark listings still carry most of this wording, and the California Office of Historic Preservation maintains the program's current texts.

Many of these plaques have since been recast or their texts revised. The California Historical Landmarks program and its current texts are maintained by the California Office of Historic Preservation. California Office of Historic Preservation ↗

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Marker data: State of California, Department of Parks and Recreation, California Historical Landmarks (1971)

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