According to various sites on Google, the town of Loreto used to be called Conchó and the tribes of indigenous persons living in the area were the Cochimies and Guaycuras. Loreto may even be the site of the oldest human settlement in Baja California dating back 12,000 years. The city of Loreto was established by the Spanish Padre Juan Maria de Salvatierra in 1697 and it became the first permanent mission on el Real de Loreto (‘the royal road’ financed by the Spanish government). This was not an overnight conversion of the local people. From the first inception by the Spanish (from mainland Mexico) to the conception of the first mission in Baja (Nuestra Señora de Loreto Conchó) at Loreto, took over 60 years. Loreto would then become the capital and religious center of California for many years. In 1777 the capital moved to Monterey but then moved back to Loreto from 1804 to 1822 due to state lines drawn separating Alto from Baja, California. Eventually, natural disasters in the form of earthquakes and hurricanes would relocate the capital to La Paz. Tourist visits became more consistent in the 1970’s when the Transpeninsular Highway was completed allowing transit from Tijuana to Cabo San Lucas and the Loreto international airport was completed in 1974. The icing on the cake was the 1996 establishment of the Loreto National Marine Park, which serves to protect 790 square miles of the Sea of Cortez and the islands of Loreto.