Carpintería (carpenter-shop). See pages [100] and [339].
Carquínez. See pages [228] and [339].
Carriso (large water bunch grass or reed-grass). See page [42].
Casa Blanca (white house). See page [79].
Casa Grande (big house). This place was so-called by the Spanish explorers on account of an unusually large Indian house they saw here. They speak of finding a “large village of many houses, and among them one extremely large.” This place is not to be confused with the famous Casa Grande in Arizona.
El Casco (the skull, or outside shell of anything). See page [79]. As casco also has the meaning of potsherd, or fragment of a broken vessel, a theory has been deduced that it was so-called because of a resemblance between the hollow in the hills where the place is located and a potsherd. This is one of those extremely far-fetched theories which are not likely to have any basis in fact.
Castac, an Indian word. The Castake was one of several tribes occupying the country from Buena Vista and Kern Lakes to the Sierra Nevada and Coast Range. Castake Lake in the Tejón Pass region derives its name from this tribe. According to Professor A. L. Kroeber, castac means “my eyes.”
Castroville, a composite word made up of Castro, a surname, and the French ville (town). The Castro family was perhaps the most numerous in California. Its most prominent member was General José Castro, of whom Bancroft says: “The charges against him of mal-treatment of settlers were unfounded. His conduct was more honorable, dignified, and consistent than that of Fremont, and he treated immigrants with uniform kindness. He was not a very able man, but energetic, popular, true to his friends, and in public office fairly honest. An injustice has been done him in painting him as a cowardly, incompetent braggart. He was at one time Commandante General of California.” The town of Castroville, named for this prominent family, is near Monterey.
Catalina, see page [62].
Cayeguas was named for a former Indian village near San Buenaventura. This village was among those mentioned in the mission archives.