Once “known to every man, woman, and child on the coast,” Nathaniel Smith is believed to be the first Black resident of Mendocino County. He was born in Maryland in 1831. In the 1840 census, the Smith family are listed as “free colored persons” in Baltimore’s 3rd Ward neighborhood. In 1847, Nathaniel boarded the Rhone, forever leaving behind life in Maryland, where slavery was legal and free African Americans faced significant threats daily. The Rhone sailed around South America and arrived in Honolulu the following year, where the crew learned of the California Gold Rush and set sail again.
Nathaniel disembarked in the Bay Area in August 1848. He settled in Sausalito in Marin County, where he ran the first ferry between Sausalito and San Francisco. He owned the ship and charged a $16 fare. There is evidence that the Rhone’s captain, Benjamin Hill, settled in California as well. Hill’s estate papers mention Nathaniel for work he did for the captain in 1849.
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