History of Escondido
Escondido Real Estate Area History
American Indian Tribes settled the Hidden Valley
Native American Indian tribes settled in the valley that is now know as Escondido. The word Escondido means hidden valley. The Spanish were the first to start settlements in San Diego North County. The first and most famous was the San Luis Rey Mission. This was in 1798 and was about 3.5 miles inland from the Pacific. It became known as the “King of Missions.” Quickly ranches, farms, and orchards were established along the nearby river. Soon Spanish started to spread inland and establish other settlements. Later when Mexico obtained its independence for Spain, the Escondido real estate area all belong to Mexico. The Mexican government gave out large land grants for ranches and one of the most famous was Rancho Rincon del Diablos. The Rincon name is seen around Escondido today in such things as the Rincon Water District, the Rincon Middle School, etc.
US Goes to War wit Mexico
In the middle of the 19th century, the United States went to war with Mexico. The San Pasqual Valley, which is just to the east of Lake Hodges, was the site of one of the key battles. The Mexican governor’s brother led the Mexican army and the US Army was led by Kit Carson, Kearney, and Gillespie. These are all famous names that are seen around San Diego County. The south Escondido real estate area is home to Kit Carson Park. This beautiful park has large areas to picnic, play baseball, softball, walk, skateboard, and more. It also has a large Amphitheter. Because of the orgin of the City of Escondido, Escondido will always have one of the largest Spanish speaking populations in San Diego county.
Life in Escondido After the War
After the United States had won the Mexican-American War, life settled down. More and more settlers came to the Escondido area. The Escondido Land Company was formed in 1886 and started dividing up over 12,000 acres of rich Escondido real Estate. Several years later in 1888 what had started as a farm hamlet was incorporated as the City of Escondido. Escondido gradually added people until it reached about 6,500 in 1950. Seems impossible since Escondido has over 140,000 residents today.
Railroads Come to the Escondido Valley
The next thing that was responsibe for growth of the Escondido real estate area and much of San Diego North County was the coming of the railroads. When building the many miles of track one of the things that slowed the progress down was a lack of railroad ties. Many ties had to be hauled great distances. The railroads decided to grow their own. They planted large Eucalyptus groves around San Diego North County. Many of these can be seen today is areas such as Scripts Ranch, Rancho Santa Fe, and along Ash just before 17 Street in Escondido. As a side note, no-one had figured out that Eucalyptus would split under pressure and was not good for railroad ties. Thank you Santa Fe and Southern Pacific for the great trees.
Avocados – Escondido’s Top Crop
After the war and the railroads, ranches, groves, and farms sprang up everywhere. The San Pasqual Valley and the Escondido Valley was very fertile and had a river runny through them. In 1895 a large dam was built just northeast of Escondido and created Lake Wohlford. This help store the much needed water since most of the time there is no rain in San Diego. In the early 1900’s highway 395 was built connecting Escondido with downtown San Diego. This opened up a great job base which would allow more growth of Escondido homes. 1n 1960 Avocados came to Escondido and thrived. Escondido remains one of the the top producers of avocadoes in the United States. Besides being a great food, the avocado trees covering the mountains surrounding Escondido make our valley a beautiful place to live.
Escondido has continued to grow and now has over 140,000 people. Gary Harmon started his real estate career in Escondido in 1989 and is proud to be one of the top Escondido Realtors. For more info, contact Gary Harmon.
