From the first flag planted by Spanish explorer Sebastian Vizcaíno in 1602, Monterey’s history has been intimately intertwined with the people charged with the defense of its lands, citizens, and principles.

The city of Monterey’s oldest military foundations are now lost in a tumble of streets around the the Royal Presidio Chapel (also called San Carlos Cathedral), the only remaining element of the original Presidio of Monterey. What is now called the Presidio rises on a hillside overlooking the harbor and entrance to the bay.

Monuments in the 26-acre Lower Presidio Historic Park commemorate Spanish Captain Gaspar de Portola and Father Junipero Serra, who claimed California for Spain in 1770. Nothing visible remains of the Spanish "El Castillo." The Sloat Monument honors Commodore John Drake Sloat, commander of the American forces that captured Monterey in 1846. The Presidio's ammunition magazine, built in the early 1900s, now houses The Presidio of Monterey Museum.

The Path of History passes several other buildings in Old Monterey with military connections. Larkin House is a two-story, adobe house, built during Monterey's Mexican Period by Thomas Oliver Larkin, an American merchant who operated a store out of his home. He was the first and only United States Consul to Alta California under Mexican rule, serving during President Polk's administration. Another small adobe built by Larkin in 1834 was offered to U.S. troops during the U.S. occupation of California. In 1847, Capt. Henry Halleck designed the first American fort and Lt. E. O. C. Ord supervised construction. William T. Sherman served as quartermaster and was housed next to the Larkin House in what is today called the Sherman-Halleck Headquarters.

Today, Monterey plays host to the Defense Languages Institute and the Naval Postgraduate School, housed in historic Herrman Hall which was once the elegant Hotel Del Monte. Another educational institution that uses historic Monterey buildings is the Monterey Institute of International Studies.