Oct 29 10
Old Town history lesson
Despite Old Town’s name, compared to the earliest inhabitants of the area, it’s a teenager that hasn’t even gotten his license yet. Archaeological evidence indicates that the Kumeyaay Indians lived in the area starting anywhere from 12,000 to 9,000 years ago. Descendants of these tribes are presumably still in existence, with the Bureau of Indian Affairs recording 1,322 Kumeyaay in 1968. Europe’s first contact with the San Diego area (and California in general) was in the mid-1500s, when Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo of Castile visited the area. He claimed the bay for the Spanish Empire in 1542 as San Miguel.Sebastian Vizcaino was sent to map the coast in 1602, and travelled there on his flagship, the San Diego. He applied this name for his landing point, which includes modern-day Mission Bay and Point Loma. The region and ship were named for San Diego de Alcala, or the Catholic Saint Didacus. Among the saint’s miracles was the seemingly impossible cure of many of his patients during his time at the convent of Ara Coeli, and also the fact that after his death, a pleasant fragrance emitted from his infected abscess.The Fort Presidio of San Diego, located above Old Town, was founded in 1769 by Gaspar de Portola, and a Franciscan mission was established in the area around the same time. The mission experienced a long period of growth and eventually led to the growth of a nearby town, located in what is now the Old Town San Diego State Historic Park. The growth of the mission ended in the 1830s when Mexico won independence from Spainbeing under the control of Mexico, the mission was subject to the new principle of secularization. Nevertheless, the Mission remains active today and is also recognized as a National Historic Landmark for its contributions to the origins of Old Town.In 1834, the new Mexican government gave San Diego the status of a pueblo, a chartered town. This status was revoked in 1838, however, as the population of the town decline due to its distance from the water. This meant that all trading had to be done overland along the several-miles-long La Playa Trail. Luckily for modern day San Diegoans, the city was still made the county seat of San Diego County when California was admitted to the U.S. in 1850.The population at the time? 650.”Old Town” was the only town until an enterprising real estate developer named Alonzo Erastus Horton moved to California and began developing “New Town” in the late 1860s. Located along San Diego Bay, the site was originally known as Horton’s Addition, but its profitable location near the water soon made it more popular for traders than San Diego. The moving of the government records from Old Town to New Town officially marked the end of an era, which was made even more noticeable in 1885 when the California Southern Railroad was constructed, connecting New Town with America’s main rail network.Today, Old Town is a symbol of San Diego’s origins, as well as its constant dedication to change and evolution. We believe that when you visit Old Town for the first time, you’ll feel a change, too.