In 1781 11 Mexican families, totaling 44 settlers, led by Felipe de Neve the Governor of Spanish California, settled by the river. Neve names the settlement El Pueblo Sobre el Rio de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Angeles del Río de Porciúncula. The 11 families were of European, African, and Native American backgrounds and they traveled from northern Mexico to help establish a farming village.