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Brief History
of Chula Vista
 Historic Photo Archives
The Early Days
The Coming of the Spanish
The American Boom
The Orchard Period
World War I and the Great Depression
World War II
Post War Chula Vista
The Early Days
The history of the area known as Chula Vista, can be traced back
millions of years through prehistoric fossils of both land and sea
types. Around 3000 B.C., Yuman-speaking people began moving into
the area. Many of the Native American Indians in San Diego today
are descendants of the Kumeyaay tribe who roamed here for hundreds
of years.
The Coming of the Spanish
In 1542, a fleet of three small ships sailed into San Diego Harbor
commanded by Juan Rodriquez Cabrillo. These explorations led the
Spanish to claim the land. In 1795, Chula Vista became a part of
a Spanish land grant known as Rancho del Rey or "The King's
Ranch." When Mexico formed its own government in 1831, Rancho
del Rey became known as Rancho del la Nation or National Ranch.
The ranch encompassed the area now known as National City, Chula
Vista, Bonita, Sunnyside and the Sweetwater Valley. Rancho del la
Nation was used by the Spanish as grazing land for their cattle
and horses until 1845 when it was granted to John Forster, the son-in-law
of Mexican governor Pio Pico.
The United States claimed California following the Mexican-American
war in 1847. Even though California became a state in 1850, land
grants were allowed to continue as private property under American
law.
The American Boom
Forster continued to operate the ranch for ten years until he sold
it to a French developer. The land was then again sold to the Kimball
brothers in 1868 for $30,000. Frank, Warren and Levi Kimball intended
to develop the land into productive American-style cities and farms.
Frank Kimball is also responsible for bringing the Santa Fe Railroad
to San Diego, with its first terminus in National City.
Several directors of the Santa Fe Railroad and Colonel W.G. Dickerson,
a professional town planner, formed the San Diego Land and Town
Company. The company set out to develop lands of the National Ranch
for new settlers. They issued promotional material to attract settlers
that read: "Upon the best part of this tract, 5,000 acres are
being subdivided into five acre lots with avenues and streets 80
feet in width running each way, the steam motor road passing though
the center. This tract, known as Chula Vista, lies but a mile from
the thriving place of National City." With this announcement,
the boom of the 1880s was on.
These five-acre lots sold for $300 per acre in 1887. The purchaser
was required to build a home within six months on the parcel. By
1889, ten houses were under construction and land sales were excellent.
And thus, the City of Chula Vista was created.
A resident, James D. Schulyer, suggested the name Chula Vista for
the town and the San Diego Land and Town Company adopted it. Chula
Vista can be roughly translated in Spanish as "beautiful view."
The Orchard Period
In 1888, the Sweetwater Dam was completed to bring water to Chula
Vista residents and their farming lands. Frank Kimball became the
State Commissioner of Agriculture and discovered citrus trees to
be the most successful crop for the area. Chula Vista eventually
became the largest lemon-growing center in the world for a period
of time.
A railroad was built to connect San Diego, National City, Chula
Vista and Otay. This railroad, know as the National City and Otay
Railroad, flourished for many years.
On October 17, 1911, an election was held in Chula Vista to incorporate
and the people voted in its favor. The State of California approved
this Act of Incorporation in November. The Board of Trustees of
Chula Vista held an election at the office of the People's State
Bank and E.T. Smith was elected President.
Local farmers continued to grow lemons as their primary crop and
used over eight packing houses in the city. However, terrible weather
came to the area in the following years causing severe damage. Crops
suffered from a severe freeze in 1913 and droughts in 1914 and 1915.
The Floods of 1916 caused major damage with a break in the Lower
Otay Dam causing millions of gallons of water to empty out in two
and a half hours. Railroad tracks near Second Avenue were swept
away, 23 homes were destroyed and more than 20 people were killed.
World War I and the Great Depression
In February 1916, the Hercules Powder Company began the design
and construction of a kelp processing plant covering a 30-acre plot
of land in Chula Vista. Kelp was an ideal source of materials used
in the production of explosives. The plant produced potash and acetone
to make cordite, a smokeless powder used extensively by the British
armed forces in World War 1. Hercules produced 20,838,000 kilos
of cordite for the British government during the war, making it
the largest kelp harvesting fleet in the world at the time. The
plant was located on what is now known as Gunpowder Point currently
the home of the Chula Vista Nature Center.
Although the Great Depression affected Chula Vista significantly,
agriculture still provided considerable income for the residents.
In 1931, the lemon orchards produced $1 million dollars in revenue
and the celery fields contributed $600,000.
World War II
World War II ushered in changes that would affect the City of Chula
Vista forever. The principal reason was the relocation of Rohr Aircraft
Corporation to Chula Vista in early 1941, just months before the
attack on Pearl Harbor. Rohr employed 9,000 workers in the area
at the height of its wartime production. With the demand for housing,
the land never returned
to being orchard groves again. The population of Chula Vista tripled
from 5,000 residents in 1940 to more than 16,000 in 1950.
To learn more about Rohr, click here.
Post War Chula Vista
After the war, many of the factory workers and thousands of servicemen
stayed in the area resulting in the huge growth in population. During
those years, numerous schools, homes, banks, restaurants, gas stations
and shopping centers opened to accommodate the growing number of
residents. The last of the citrus groves and produce fields disappeared
as Chula Vista became one of the largest communities in San Diego.
To learn more about the history of Chula Vista, please visit the Chula Vista Heritage Museum or check out the local history room at the Chula Vista Public Library.
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