Jasper O'Farrell

Jasper O'Farrell
Jasper O'Farrell ca1850
Born	1817 County Wexford, Ireland
Died	November 16, 1875 San Francisco

Jasper O'Farrell (1817–1875) was the first surveyor for San Francisco. He designed the "grand promenade" that became today's Market Street. O'Farrell Street in San Francisco is named after him.

O'Farrell was born in County Wexford, Ireland in 1817 and was educated in Dublin. He went to London, England, where he boarded a ship bound for South America. After leaving Chile, he came to San Francisco in 1843.

O'Farrell found work with the Mexican government and surveyed much of Marin and Sonoma counties. He was one of the first settlers of Sebastopol, where he purchased Rancho Estero Americano in 1843. He named the valley after Annaly, Ireland, the home of the O'Farrell family.

Following the American conquest of San Francisco, the Military Mayor of San Francisco, Lt.Washington Allon Bartlett commissioned a land survey of Yerba Buena (later to be called San Francisco) in 1847. O'Farrell improved the 1839 street maps produced by the former Mexican alcalde (mayor) of Yerba Buena, Francisco Guerrero, and his Swiss surveyor, Jean Jacques Vioget. O'Farrell's map covered the area bounded by Post, Leavenworth, and Francisco Streets and the Bay, and also corrected the Vioget street designs, which were 2½ degrees off true right angles.

Shortly after that survey he established the location (parallel to Mission Street) and width of Market Street. He was also influential in naming streets, including Market, Lombard, Chestnut, Filbert, and Pine. O'Farrell named Valparaiso Street after the port in Chile, where he lived for a time before coming to San Francisco.