San Diego Locales.com

BANCROFT RANCH HOUSE
The building is next door to the Spring Valley Chamber of
Commerce building on Bancroft Drive. It is a National Historic
Landmark built in 1885.
Location: One block E of Memory and Bancroft Dr,
Spring Valley

Belmont Park
3146 Mission Blvd, San Diego, CA 92109
General Information Line (858) 228-WAVE (9283)

BOX CANYON
Box Canyon is said to be the first wagon road into Southern
California.

Location: On County Road S2 (P.M. 25.7), 8.6 mi S
of State Hwy 78, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

CABRILLO LANDING SITE
Site of the first European landing on the coast of California.

Location: Base of Ballast Point, S end of Rosecrans
Street, where historic markers are on a half circle, U.S.
Naval Submarine Base, San Diego

CAMPO STORE

The Campo Store has a colorful past. Built in 1885 this
building was used as a bank, post office, stage station
and served as the social center for the community.

Location: State Hwy 94 (P.M. 50.6), at Campo Circle,
Campo

CASA DE AGUIRRE

This is a museum which is located in the original
construction of the adobe of the home of Don Jose Antonio
Aguirre. Don Antonio was a wealthy merchant and rancher
who contributed greatly to the development of San Diego
and is a member of one of San Diego’s founding families.

CASA DE BANDINI

Built around 1827, this old mansion was erected by notable
citizen Don Jose Bandini and his son

Location: On NE corner of Mason and Calhoun Streets,
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park

CASA DE CARRILLO

This is the oldest of adobe mansions now standing, having
been built in the second decade of the Nineteenth Century.

Location: About 100 ft NE of Juan St on Wallace Street,
Presidio Golf Course, San Diego

CASA DE LOPEZ

A house built about 1835 by Francisco Lopez.

Location: 3890 Twiggs Street, Old Town, San Diego

CASA DE MACHADO

“House of the Flag” This house was built in 1782 and was
the hiding place of the Mexican flag during the occupation
of the Americans.

Location: Old Town San Diego State Historic Park

CASA DE PEDRORENA

Home of Don Miguel T. de Pedrorena a courageous military
leader during the Mexican War.

Location: 2616 San Diego Ave, Old Town San Diego
State Historic Park

CASA DE STEWART

A house built in the 1830s by Corporal Jose Manuel Machado,
of the San Diego Presidio Company.

Location: NW corner of Congress and Mason Streets,
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park

CHAPEL OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

The oldest church in San Diego

Location: 3950 Conde Street, between Congress St
and San Diego Ave in Old Town, San Diego.

EL CAMPO SANTO

The Catholic cemetery for San Diego between 1850 and 1880
where most of San Diego’s most well-known citizens are buried.

Location: On San Diego Ave between Arista and Conde
Streets, San Diego

THE ESTUDILLO HOUSE

A Mexican Californian mansion built in San Diego during
the 1800’s and filled with period antiques.

Location: The Estudillo House is located at the Old
Town San Diego State Historic Park, San Diego Avenue at
Twiggs Street, San Diego.

FERRYBOAT BERKELEY

The Berkeley is the best preserved 19th century ferryboat
in existence and was declared a National Historic Landmark
in 1990.

Location: 1306 North Harbor Drive, San Diego

FIRST MILITARY FLYING SCHOOL IN AMERICA

Glenn Curtiss founded the first military flying school in
here on January 17, 1911.

Location: Sunset Park, 200 block of Ocean Blvd, at
entrance to Gate 5, Naval Air Station, North Island, Coronado

FORT GUIJARROS SITE

This fort was San Diego’s first harbor defense, built around
1797.

Location: Base of Ballast Point, S end of Rosecrans
Street, U.S. Naval Submarine Base, San Diego

FORT ROSECRANS

A fort occupied in the 1800’s and the surrounding bluffs
were used to defend against naval attacks up until after
World War ll.

Location: Base of Ballast Point, Send of Rosecrans
Street, where historic markers are on a half circle, U.S.
Naval Submarine Base, San Diego

FORT ROSECRANS CEMETERY

This cemetery is a burial place for the San Diego Barracks
in the late 1870’s. Location: Cabrillo Memorial Dr
Point Loma, San Diego

FORT STOCKTON

Located in Presidio Park, this fort dates back to the 1800’s
and was an important location during the spanish and mexican
wars.

Location: Top of hill W of Presidio Drive in Presidio
Park, Old Town, San Diego

HOTEL DEL CORONADO

The hotel was built in 1887, is one of America’s largest
wooden victorian style structures. The hotel has provided
accommodations for movie stars to presidents.

JULIAN

Julian was the biggest gold mining camp in California. It
has been restored and offers visitors a stroll back into
the past.

LA CANADA DE LOS COCHES RANCHO

La Canada de Los Coches Rancho is a 28 ranch built in the
1800’s.

Location: On Pomerado Rd, 0.1 mi E of I-15, 5 mi
SE of Escondido

LEO CARRILLO RANCH

Between 1937 and 1940, actor Leo Carillo built this ranch
retreat. The working ranch initially encompassed over 2000
acres.

Location: 4758 Palomar Airport Road, Carlsbad

MASON STREET SCHOOL

Built in the 1800’s the old school building is supposed
to be the first publicly owned school house in the county.

Location: 3966 Mason Street, Old Town San Diego State
Historic Park

MISSION DAM AND FLUME

The old mission dam was constructed during the first decade
of the Nineteenth Century by the priests and Indians of
the San Diego Mission and much of it is stilling standing.

Location: Mission Trails Regional Park near NE entrance,
San Diego

MISSION SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA

This is documented to be the first mission in California
during the 1700’s. Location: On Friar’s Road, off
Murphy Canyon Road, at the east end of Mission Valley.

MISSION SAN LUIS REY DE FRANCIA

Called San Diego’s most striking mission, the mission was
named after Louis IX, King of France.

Location: Four miles east of Oceanside on Highway
76.

MONTGOMERY MEMORIAL

In 1883, John Joseph Montgomery made the first flight in
a heavier-than-air craft 20 years before the Wrights.

Location: Montgomery-Walker Park, NE corner of Coronado
Ave and Beyer Blvd, South San Diego

OAK GROVE STAGE STATION

Oak Grove state station is one of the few buildings still
standing that serviced the Butterfield Overland Mail. It
is now a renovated store.

Location: State Hwy 79 (P.M. 49.4), Oak Grove

THE OLD LANDING SITE

The Old Landing at the mouth of the San Diego River provided
a a landing place for goods to San Diego during Spanish
and Mexican times.

Location: Base of Ballast Point, S end of Rosecrans
Street, U.S. Naval Submarine Base, San Diego

OLD LA PLAYA QUARANTINE STATION

Quarantine Station was where ships inbound from foreign
ports were screened for infectious diseases and contamination.

Location: On left side of Rosecrans St, at entrance
to Military Reserve, Point Loma, San Diego.

OLD TOWN PLAZA

This the center of public life and recreation in Old San
Diego.

Location: Old Town Plaza (Washington Square), Old
Town San Diego State Historic Park

OLD TOWN SAN DIEGO STATE HISTORIC PARK

Settled by soldiers and their families, Old Town grew into
a community on the 1800’s.

Location: Old Town San Diego State Historic Park

PALA MISSION

San Antonio de Pala is the only one of the Franciscan outposts
of Spanish California still a mission for the Indians.

Location: San Antonio de Pala is six and one-half
miles east of U. S. Highway 395, on State Route 76; plaque
on State Hwy 76 (P.M. 23.6), Pala

PEG LEG SMITH MONUMENT

Monument to gold miner Thomas L. Smith, better known as
‘Peg Leg,’ 1801-1866. It is said that his lost mine is located
nearby.

Location: Henderson Canyon Rd, 1,000 ft N of Pegleg
Rd, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

POINT LOMA LIGHTHOUSE

One of the most visited national historic landmark monuments
in California the Point Loma Lighthouse is located at the
end of Point Loma. The lighthouse, was built in 1855 by
the government and is over five hundred feet above sea level
making it the tallest in the world when it was built.

Location: Cabrillo National Monument, Point Loma,
San Diego

RANCHO GUAJOME

The adobe ranch house, built in 1852-53, is one of the finest
examples of traditional Spanish-Mexican hacienda.

Location: Rancho Guajome Regional Park, 2210 N Santa
Fe Ave, 4 mi E of Mission San Luis Rey

SAN DIEGO PRESIDIO SITE

This spot is the site of the first white settlement on the
West Coast of the United States.

Location: Next to parking lot across Presidio Dr
from Serra Museum, Presidio Park, Old Town, San Diego

SANTA YSABEL MISSION SITE

A San Diego Mission built in the 1800’s.

Location: On State Hwy 79 (P.M. 21.8), 1.4 mi N of
Santa Ysabel

SAN PASQUAL BATTLEFIELD

Near the San Diego Wild Animal Park east of Escondido is
the monument commemorating the bloodiest battle in California
history.

Location: San Pasqual Battlefield State Historic
Park, State Hwy 78 (P.M. 25.1) at Old Pasqual Rd, 7 mi SE
of Escondido

SANTA CATARINA

A camp site for Anza’s expedition.

Location: Santa Catarina Springs, 10 mi NW of Borrego
Springs (4-wheel drive dirt rd), Anza-Borrego Desert State
Park, ask at Visitor Center

SAN FELIPE VALLEY STAGE STATION

The station was built in the 1800’s and used for the Butterfield
Mail. Location: On County Hwy S2 (P.M. 15.9), 0.9
mi NW of intersection of State Hwy 78, near Anza-Borrego
Desert State Park

SPANISH LANDING

This is the area where the Portolá-Serra expedition met
in 1769 and began the Spanish Occupation.

Location: Spanish Landing Park, Harbor Drive, San
Diego

SANTA MARGARITA RANCH HOUSE

The Ranch House was built in the 1800’s and is open to the
public by appointment only – the Commanding General occupies
the home. Tours last about an hour and a half hour and are
schedule for specific days that need to be booked at least
one month in advance. You can request a tour by mail to:
Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base Public Affairs Office,
History & Museums PO Box 555019 Camp Pendleton, CA 92055-5019

Location: Camp Pendleton Marine Base

STAR OF INDIA

The Star of India is the world’s oldest sea worthy ship.
It is docked and open to the public for tours.

Location: 1306 North Harbor Drive, San Diego

VALLECITO STAGE STATION

This house became a station on the San Antonio-San Diego
Mail Route and in it was made one of the stops of the famous
Butterfield Overland Mail stops in the 1800s.

Location: Vallecito Stage Station County Park, on
County Rd S2 (P.M. 34.7), 3.7 mi NW of Agua Caliente Springs

WARNER’S RANCH

An old ranch that was a resting place for traveling army
units. Their springs produce water that is believed to have
therapeutic effects.

Location: On County Hwy S2 (P.M. 0.7), 0.7 mi E of
juncture of State Hwy 79, 4 mi SE of Warner Springs

THE WHALEY HOUSE

This is the only mansion of the American style of the mid-Nineteenth
Century to be seen in San Diego. The Whaley House is also
said to be haunted.

Location: 2482 San Diego Ave, Old Town, San Diego

WHALING STATION SITE

A site where whalers operated during the 1850’s through
the 1860’s. Location: Base of Ballast Point, U.S.
Naval Submarine Base, San Diego.