I roto i te 1835, Ingarihi William Richardson whakaarahia te homestead motuhake tuatahi, tata ki te kaipuke tauranga a tawhio noa te mea i teie mahana Portsmouth Square. Ki te tahi me Alcalde Francisco de Haro, whakatakotoria e ia i te mahere huarahi mo te whakataunga whakawhānui, me te pa, i huaina Yerba Buena, ka timata ki te kukume settlers American. Commodore John D. Sloat kerēme California mo te United States i runga i Hōngongoi 7, 1846, i roto i te MexicanAmerican War, a ka tae Kapene John B. Montgomery ki te kerēme Yerba Buena rua nga ra i muri mai. Yerba Buena i whakaingoatia San Francisco i runga i Hānuere 30 o te tau i muri mai, a mana tukua Mexico te rohe ki te United States i te mutunga o te pakanga. Ahakoa tona wāhi ātaahua rite te tauranga me te turanga moana, ko San Francisco tonu he whakataunga iti.
Ko te Yerba Buena