Carlsbad Time Lines
Q4 2024 Carlsbad, California, Historical Society
President's Letter
The Woman’s Club on Monroe Avenue
Next year the Carlsbad Woman’s Club will celebrate their 100th anniversary. Established in April 1925, the current membership asked that I provide a brief snapshot of life in Carlsbad during the 1920s. The following was presented during their October membership meeting.
“Historical events never occur in a vacuum. In order to understand the significance and impact to Carlsbad residents when the Women’s Club was established, we need to take a step back and look at what 1920 Carlsbad was like, why it was that way, and what changes the club provided.
As we know, Carlsbad has a rich indigenous history. Archeological artifacts found such as the California State prehistoric stone bear, indicate that native people migrated through our area for at least 6,000 years. Later indigenous groups that occupied what is now known as the geographical borders of Carlsbad were the Kummeyaay and the Luiseños. Both groups were migratory, with no fixed settlements. The area that was Carlsbad in the 1920s had been inhabited by the Luiseño.
Spanish missionaries and military arrived during the 1769 Sacred Expedition and they did not find fixed structures, roads or established farming. San Diego County was a blank slate, very different from what Spain encountered during other expeditions in the Americas. Spain’s first mission was in San Diego. And they went on to establish other missions throughout California before returning to San Diego County and founding Mission San Luis Rey in 1798. The Spanish missions created a system whereby all land in Alta California, of which San Diego County pertains, belonged to the missions. The only small towns that arose near missions were mainly inhabited by Presidio soldiers and their families.
It wasn’t until after Mexican independence from Spain in 1821 that former mission lands were divided into ranchos, and individuals were able to own property.
What did this mean for Carlsbad? Simply put, just the establishment of Rancho Agua Hedionda. Things were rustic, distant, and still lacking in basic infrastructure of roads, schools , stores, and other services. Ranchos were far apart, and people were few.
When California became part of the US, and Americans started to arrive in 1848, everyday life started to change. Towns such as San Diego started to grow with the influx of former soldiers, and people traveling to and from the gold country earning money and returning to San Diego county starting businesses.
A brief lull occurred during the American Civil War, when many men were serving in the military.
Around 1866 health spas and “taking the waters” became the thing to do to combat ailments. This coincides with many civil war veterans seeking relief from ailments incurred during the war.
When John Frazier sunk his famous wells along the 1883 coastal rail lines that connected San Diego to points north, this made the creation of a town feasible.
By 1886 the Carlsbad Land and Water Company had purchased land along the rail lines, with the intent of establishing a town with small plots suitable only for building a home, and creating a spa town. The water from the wells in town were the draw to a newly built health spa hotel, and viable ways to make a living revolved around goods and services aimed at this one industry. It was a tremendous task creating a town out of vacant land. Keep in mind, this was an area that was being built upon land that had never had any infrastructure.
Roads were plowed dirt, eucalyptus trees were planted and marked out the few downtown streets.
By 1890 a drought had people abandoning Carlsbad property.
In 1906 the South Coast Land and Water Company purchased the remaining Carlsbad Land and Water Company property and focused on expanding the opportunities of people to resettle in Carlsbad. Between 1906 and 1914, they laid water pipes and created larger parcels of land for farming which created a more reliable way to make a living.
This in turn gave rise to an influx of residents migrating from established areas of the country where roads, and government assistance, medical and schools were established. At the beginning it was mainly growers, those who focused on planting avocado and subtropical groves. By 1916, Carlsbad was on the path to becoming an avocado industry when Sam Thompson planted his first trees.
So what spurred the creation of the Woman’s Club in 1925? Let’s take a look at what Carlsbad didn’t have at the beginning of 1920 and what the new residents encountered upon arrival.
There were no fire, police, parks, libraries, or other government services; one church, no sanitation or sewage disposal, no secondary education or a reliable workforce. Roads were unpaved dirt, and the direct connection to Oceanside was across the Buena Vista Lagoon at low tide on a wooden boardwalk.
The 1920s really begins the modern establishment of the town we know today. The influx of new residents put a glaring spotlight on what was lacking and created a volunteer community to meet the needs of residents. The national prohibition began in 1920, and with this new law Carlsbad saw an increase in traffic from LA to Tijuana. The avocado, subtropical and floral industry was taking firm hold. “Gentleman farmers” were buying land and moving into town and farm workers were arriving from Mexico.
When Sally Troutman and Marion Holmes moved to Carlsbad and began a Children’s Sunday School in 1922, their action spurred the development of the Carlsbad Union Church which formed 2 years later. The church motto, “In the heart of the community with the community at heart”, in turn became the genesis of the Carlsbad Women’s Club.
A year later in 1923, Roy Chase, a transplanted Mid Westerner, started the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce. This group became the de facto local government for Carlsbad. This group took a firm hand in supplying solutions for the needs of the residents and business community.
State Street became the business district that supported the farmers' needs, and was conveniently located near the train depot, the site of all imports and exports for the farmers.
By 1924, a gentleman builder named La Betta arrived, and built housing for the Barrio Carlos Workers. These $500 wooden houses near rail lines had no running water or electricity.
Wesleyan missionaries soon arrive to support the resident farm workers. The Spencer’s and 3 years later the Henleys supplied help to the residents of this barrio, offering first hand help to families. Even to the point of taking in semi orphaned children. Why? Simply because there was no government agency to help.
By 1925, the year the Woman’s Club was established, the business/farming groups had begun the Avocado Day celebration hosted on State Street. The Carlsbad Champion, later named the Carlsbad Journal was founded and one of the founding members of the Woman’s Club, Mrs. Maxwell, was the wife of the newspaper publisher and editor. Most assuredly her understanding of the needs of the community helped advocate for more societal responsibilities aligned with medical and educational focus as well as recreational pursuits for the residents.
With the 1927 realignment of the State Highway that bypassed downtown businesses and the aggressive building of the large commercial structures, the Red Apple Inn, and the Carlsbad Mineral Springs Hotel, Carlsbad started to connect with the outside world in a more modern way. And the Woman’s Club was ready and willing to meet the changing needs by filling in the gaps.”
As we received the Calendar of Events for next year's celebration activities we will send out an email blast.
Woman’s Club by Marge Howard-Jones
In a town of farmers and small business owners, it was the women who decided there were other things to think about. They talked about it over tea at each other’s home, then moved to church halls and schools to accommodate their growing numbers. It was after they had moved into a small house that they felt ready to establish their community identity. They contacted a local architect who had trained with Frank Lloyd Wright and described in detail just what they wanted…ranch style exterior, quarry tile floors in the foyer, a stage for music and dramatic performances and a patio for informal gatherings. It was announced that it was to be a Woman’s (not Women’s) Club. Once built, they provided a venue for lectures, concerts, civic ceremonies, weddings and memorials. It was where everyone’s face was familiar…the only game in town.
This was nearly 100 years ago, when husbands worked and women kept house and tended children…and had the time and energy to enlarge their lives through the sharing of ideas..and community service. It was these women who organized community pot-lucks and fund drives that provided the town’s social life…volunteering was what they did, for fun or fulfillment, or companionship. It was also the means for others to become involved in the local scene.
Today the Woman’s Club is mostly dark…a rental venue for individual events, its original purpose long replaced by the rewards of careers and other diversions. Women are still the catalysts for community activities but the town is now a city and we are not so dependent on our near environment for enrichment. Loneliness may now be a social dilemma of concern, but the ideals and ambitions of the Woman’s Club to bring people together are even more valuable than its founders could have imagined.
From the City Manager’s Newsletter
More state funding secured to address people living in encampments.
On Tuesday, the City Council accepted $5.3 million in grant funding as part of a $11.4 million joint project with the City of Oceanside to address encampments along State Route 78. The funding comes from the state’s Encampment Resolution Funding Program.
The goal of the grant is not just to clean up encampments; it’s to transition people living in encampments into stable housing. Over the next three years, the cities will use the majority of the funds to work with groups and organizations that provide services to people experiencing homelessness.
One of two Windsor Pointe Facilities, this one located behind Poinsettia Plaza
Chief of Police [Very Negative] Report on Windsor Pointe (from the Coast News)
Police Chief Christie Calderwood said on Tuesday morning [in mid August] around 8 a.m. she arrived at Windsor Pointe and saw a woman with no shoes throw a bag over an emergency gate and then pull hard on a door to enter the property at the Oak Avenue location. The gate’s alarm did not sound off, Calderwood said.
[Chief] Calderwood radioed the department and then entered the property through the garage in search of the woman. Calderwood said the gate’s locking mechanism was unengaged and then she walked up a flight of stairs. She looked down and saw a mattress and other items under the stairwell, which looked like someone was living there. [Chief] Calderwood said she was able to open several doors, all of which were supposed to be locked.
Carlsbad police have responded to hundreds of calls at Windsor Pointe. The chief said an employee at the Harding building told her if someone pulls hard enough, the doors open. Regardless, Calderwood was unable to find the woman.
She said no employee was working at the Oak Avenue building, so she tried to contact the property management company, ConAm. She left a voicemail, which wasn’t returned until 11 a.m. Calderwood then called the video monitoring company, Stealth Monitoring, and the employee said, “Let me get to that camera.” She said she was under the impression the buildings were monitored 24/7.
“ConAm is aware that doors are unsecured and anyone can enter the building,” Calderwood added. “Important to notify the community and the council of this incident.”
Jonathan Taylor of Affirmed Housing said the company is taking swift action to update the hardware and the known offender was taking advantage of the system. Also, he said Affirmed has begun an investigation as Stealth Monitoring has protocols for emergencies but failed in this situation.
Carlsbad Police have placed a self powered camera unit across from Windsor Point
Carlsbad Aquafarm leaving Agua Hedionda Lagoon
Carlsbad Aquafarm is leaving Agua Hedionda Lagoon for other environmental enterprises after the property owner, NRG Energy, discontinued the lease on the site.
“We have other things,” owner Tom Grimm said Tuesday. “We are pivoting our business model to living shoreline projects … such as using oyster shells to create reefs and nesting areas.”
“Oyster shells have been used to create nesting areas for endangered bird species such as the snowy plover and the California Least Tern on the shore of the lagoon, at Coronado Island and elsewhere in Southern California”, he said. The shells also can be used to prevent coastal erosion.
Grimm also is president and CEO of a business called Phycovax, which creates processes such as a way to use industrial carbon emissions to grow algae in large quantities for use as livestock feed.
Contributing to Grimm’s departure is what property owner NRG calls “the changing landscape” of nearby lagoon activities.
“For many years, Cabrillo Power LLC (an affiliate of NRG), has allowed Carlsbad Aquafarm, Inc. limited use of five acres in the outer Agua Hedionda Lagoon and along the south shore adjacent to the former Encina power plant,” said a statement released by NRG.
“In recent years, the landscape of the property has changed rapidly,” it said. “Among other things, the Encina power plant has now been removed, the ocean desalination plant is installing a new water intake structure and the Encina site now hosts temporary Fire Station No. 7 for the city of Carlsbad.”
As a result, Cabrillo/NRG “is discontinuing Carlsbad Aqua Farm’s license to use the property, and has allowed ample time for the farm to remove its facilities and vacate the premises,” NRG officials said.
By Phil Diehl, The San Diego Union-Tribune, August 13, 2024
Oyster Beds on the West Side of Agua Hedionda Lagoon
No Sound Barriers for Downtown Carlsbad-yet?
Some citizens of Carlsbad were hoping that the expensive freeway 5 expansion would include noise barriers, particularly in front of City Hall and the Carlsbad Village. It is not clear if this will ever happen. Some cities, like Encinitas for example, have built their own noise barrier walls. The wall does not have to be really tall to significantly reduce noise. It seems that 4 or 5 feet would limit the line of sight noise that is so offensive.
From https://www.keepsandiegomoving.com/
What will be done to address freeway noise?
SANDAG and Caltrans are fully committed to understanding traffic noise impacts and engaging property owners and communities throughout the process. As part of the NCC Program, 22 noise-mitigating walls have been proposed. The sound walls will help reduce noise from the freeway, enhancing residents’ quality of life.
In an effort to explore additional noise mitigation measures, Caltrans will commence a pilot project in the Summer of 2012 along a one-mile stretch of Interstate 5 in Solana Beach, between Via de la Valle and Loma Santa Fe Drive, to study the effectiveness of a new diamond grinding method for reducing freeway noise. The grinding method, called Next Generation Concrete Surface, creates a smoother and quieter riding surface by removing uneven joints, cracks, warping and other freeway irregularities.
From John Kelly’s Book Life on a San Diego County Ranch (~1925)
The following paragraphs describe the very difficult crossing of “The Grapevine” between the San Joaquin Valley and Santa Clarita.
But I must return to Mrs. Bailey's experience of crossing this old road in a covered wagon in 1868. As I remember their story, they camped at Coyote Wells on Sunday night. On Monday They stopped through the thick sand until near the mouth of Devil's Canyon. When They came so far, their oxen were almost exhausted. There were now only two families in the group: the Mr. and Mrs. L.N. Bailey and children, and his brother Henry Bailey and his family. They had three yokes of oxen in each car.
The men decided that since they now had to climb a very bad mountain, they should leave a cart and use double shots. That is, put the twelve oxen in a cart and take it to the top of the mountain, and then go back and load the other car.
I will now endeavor to tell the experience of Mrs. L.N. Bailey, just like she told me. “The men continued with the other cart, leaving me and our two children, and the wife and children. Henry Bailey's sons camped there on the sand. The men returned with the oxen on Wednesday, after having carried a cart up a hill. That afternoon they left with the second car. That night I walked behind the wagon throughout Devil's Canyon. We arrived at Mountain Springs around midnight and camped there until morning. In the morning we began to climb the great mountain behind Springs (the old Fremont grade). I walked behind the cart to the top. We arrived at a place called Milquati on Friday afternoon, where we went to camp. On Monday "The next night my son Harvey was born."
New Members
Leslie Tipping
Results of Election of Directors
The incumbents Susan Gutierrez for President, Germ
n Gutierrez for Treasurer, and Virginia Unanue for Secretary, were reelected.
The changes to the By-Laws were approved. These changes read as follows:
Article III
Section 2. The annual membership dues shall be determined by the Board of Directors. Dues are payable by December 31st annually.
Article IV
Section 1. The Board of Directors shall consist of a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and a Member At Large. Term of office will consist of two years.
Section 2. A General Slate of Candidates will be elected every two years to fill the Board of Directors. Board members will be appointed to their positions at the first board meeting after the annual election.
Article V
Section 4. The Member At-Large shall coordinate acquisitions and donations and other fund raising activities.
Section 7. DELETED
Robert Stromberg’s Picture of Burning Carlsbad Hotel in 1896
In our last newsletter we reported on the construction of a new “Carlsbad Hotel” behind the location of the original Frazier’s Well. When the original hotel burnt in 1896, reportedly all land sales stopped.
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Carlsbad Historical Society
258 Beech Ave. Carlsbad CA 92008
(442) 500-4471
www.carlsbadhistoricalsociety.com
*Open Saturday and Sunday, 11 am to 3 pm
*Private Tours by appointment
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