HomeMy WebLinkAbout1978-04-18; City Council; 5412; Stagecoach Park adobe ruins plaque dedicationL ..
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CITY OF CARLSBAD
AGENDA BILL NO. s#/gM
DATE :
DEPARTMENT:
April 18, 1978
City Manager
4.
Initial: Dept . Hd . ,’, .‘a’
Subject:
ADOBE RUINS AT STAGE COACH PARK
Dedication of Plaque
Statement of,the Matter
The Sqiubob Chapter of E Clampus Vitus, a California historical organization, is authorized by the State of California to place state registered plaques at historical sites upon proper documentation. This organization is interested in holding a commemorative ceremony May 21, 1978 at the City of Carlsbad property known as the proposed Stagecoach Park for the purpose of dedicating a plaque at the adobe ruins. The plaque will not be permanently affixed until the park site is completed.
In conjunction with the dedication, the Chapter is requesting
approval for camping on the site (recreational vehicles) May 19 to May 21, 1978. Meals are provided, portable sanitary facilities are rented and a committee is responsible for seeing that no trash or litter is left behind.
Exhibit
Memo from Coordinator, Parks and Recreation Department, 4-5-78.
Information sheet showing wording of plaque.
Letter from Sqiubob Chapter dated 1-9-78.
Recommendation
If Council approves request, authorize staff to process necessary permit.
Council action
4-18-78 The request was approved and staff was authorized to process the necessary permit.
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M E M 0 R A N D U M
TO : CITY MANAGER
FROM : Joe Eggleston, Parks and Recreation Coordinator
DATE : April 5, 1978
SUBJECT: PLAQUE FOR ADOBE RUINS AT STAGE COACH PARK
The Sqiubob Chapter of E Clampus Vitus, a California historical organization, proposes to dedicate a bronze plaque, approximately 18"x24", to the adobe ruins at the proposed Stage Coach Park. The
dedication will occur during the society's requested encampment at
the site from May 19 - 21, 1978. The plaque will not be permanently
affixed in place until the park site is developed. The Parks and
Recreation Department will store appropriately.
Upon approval of the facility use permit, necessary coordination will be made with the La Costa Land Company to gainaccess to the areas. Necessary coordination will be made with the Society for the parking of their camper vehicles near the site but away from the immediate area of the ruins. The Society has indicated that it intends to invite City officials to the dedication. The Parks and Recreation Commission recommends approval of the encampment and dedication.
Thank you, A ke f$/f$&'"-
oe Egg1 ton, Coordinator Parks and Recreation Department
JE: scf
Attachments
2
STAGECOACH PARK
THE ANDRES E YBARRA RANCH HOUSE
ON THIS PORTION OF RANCHO LAS
ENCINITAS WAS LONG USED AS A
STATION ON THE TWO-DAY STAGE
RUN FROM SAN DIEGO TO LOS ANGELES
AFTER 1864
PLAQUE PLACED BY
THE CITY OF CARLSBAD
IN COOPERATION WITH
SQUIBOB CHAPTER 1853
E CLAMPUS VITUS
MAY 21, 1978
E3
1853
January 9, 1978
Xrq 3:dzar Y. Johnson ?ark & Recreation Director Sity of Carlsbad
1200 Elm Avenue Carlsbad, Ca 92008
Dear Krq Johnson;
The Squibob Chapter, E Clampis Vitus is interested. in holding a commemorative ceremony ?day 21, 1978 at the City of Sarlsbad ?ark & iiecreation property known as your p-oposed Stagecoach ?ark, It is our intentiori to at this time, dedicate and 2lace
an appropiate permanent plaque at this site. In the event your d.evelogment restrictions could. not offer security to such a 3laque, we wolnld. at your option either retain 2ossession of the ilaque for a later brief redeeication, or give the 2laque to your Department for permanent mountimg at such time as peman- ent facilities are a.vailable your Eepartment znd other interested. citizens are invited to attend. the Sund-ay d.es.ication, usually he12 at .lo130 A,?:,
Clamps Vitus, fouiid.ec! in Dalifornia in 1852, is a statewide historical organization, orizinally formed. for the purpose of provid.ing relief t.6 the widows and op;?han? of .-old mhers d.uring the gold. rush d-ays. of California to place State registered plaques at historical sites upon l3roper d.ocumentation. are to perpetuate historically significant places of interest.
Klernbers of your City government,
--I
E C.lampus Vitue is authoryzed by the State
IJoderr? zoals of the organization
The Squibob Chapter, Chartered in Xay, 1961 oprates in San ljiego and Imperial Counties. The Cha.2ter holcls seni-annual weeken$. meetings at sites selected for their local historical interest. Eembership in the Chapter is statewide and our usual turnout for a meetin2 3:s 100 to 350 pereons. Members come in their EV vehicles, initiate new members and attend the site ?.e8.icati9nq Yo wornen have
so far joined the organization, and. no chil?.ren or 2ets are allowe?.
'de permit no wea2ons of any kind; no notorcycles or dune buggies.
XeaIs are grovid-ed 3y the Chs2ter for the members served. from a
converted housetrailer “chuckwagon” kitchen, usually?. pulled. to
the site by our antique fire engine. Beer ar,d alcoholic-bever-
ages are consumed. by the members. Portable sanitary facilities are rented commercially an6 p-rovid-ec? for rnea3ers not so equipped. An internal cornnittee is responsible for makin5 certain no trash or litter is. left behind. Yhile the orGanization is fu.n loving clurins these meetings, we do take our history seriously. In the past we have d.edicated sites on several State ?ark sibs, City of’ San Die20 sites, City of 0ceansid.e site, U, S. Military reservations, Fort Authority sites and Bureau of Land Management sites with only one minor comp.laint having been regis-bered. xern5ership, while not restricted. in airy way, is lrixa-kily nade
up of :iis4$- stu.d.e:& and srofessors, State DOT engineers, firemen, pace officers, schoolteachers, attorneys. c:Je request 2ermission to bezin our satherin2 02 Friday, May 19 and stay through until Sunday, Kay 21, 1978 .)
While we are sure your Department, and City is got in the habit of providing cam2ing sites for organizations, we ho2e the import- ance of your and our goals in this instance will cause you to give your a2proval to this exception.
r_l
?lease feel free to contact ne regard.ing this matter if I call assist you by answering any questions.
3311 Eelfor; Street
San 3iego, Ca 92111
73
a : STAGECOACH PARK 0
THE ANDRES YBARRA RANCH HOUSE AND RANCHO LAS ENCINlTAS
SPRING CLAMPOUT, SQUJBOB CHAPTER, 1853 E CLAMPUS VlTUS MAY 20-21,1978
TBE ANDRGS YBARRA RANCH HOUSE
AND RANCHO US ENCINITAS
compiled by
agene K. Chamberlin, Ph. D.
Noble Grad Historian, Squibob Chapter 1853 E CLAXPUS VITUS
"In commemoration of the dedication of a
portion of the rancho and the adobe ruins
as a historic park by the City of Carlsbad
under the name of STAGECOACH PARK."
SPRING CLAMPOUT OF SdUIBOB CHAPTER
STAGECOACH PAM
CABLSBAI), CALIFOHN IA,
by 20-21, 1978
RANCHO US RJCINITAS AS CONFIRMETI TO ANDHgS YBAKHA IN 1854
HISTORICAL COLLECTION--TITLE INSURANCE AND TRUST COS
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As far as is known, the first non-Indians to traverse the lands later to
become Rancho Las Encinitas were the members of the Portola expedition in
the suamer of 1769, on their way from San Diego in search of Monterey Bay.
Most likely it was crossed by the detachment under Juan Bautista de Anza
early in 1776, 3n its my t? strengthen the Ijan Diego presidio following
the Indian uprising of late 1775 which had destroyed the mission and for
a time seemed likely to end the pioneer efforts of the Spaniards in this
region.
3y 3.830 the wandering route known as "El Camino Eleal" was well established
and linked the missions and presidios of Alta Salifornis. Unlike traffic
arteries of later days, El Camino Iieal followed an inland route in order to
avoid ;Sari nijo and atiquitos lagoons, which intruded three or four miles from the coast. Even so, the totally unchecked San Dicguito, San Luis Hey,
and %nta Iulargarika rivers, and :nZ:ij. :<~~z*;o:ial creeks and ravines, made
tr.nvel difficult.
days, and in the present century it has been shown that even our best built trentles and bridges sometimes give way to storm and stress.
At times they completely cut off land passage for many
On July 3, 1842, Rancho LRs Ehcinftas WRG granted by Governor Juan Bautista
Alvarado to AndrGa Ybarra, n l>ng established resident of Los Angeles and
;an Diego. It contained one square league, and was later determined to have
'i ,431.03 acres. United States acquisition of Alta California several years
later brought challenges to land tities, and Ybarra filed a sSai.rll with the
U. S. land conmissioners on October 16, 1852, to establish his awnership.
In 1854-55 the grant was confirmed to him, and April 18, 1871, a patent was
issued to make the title secure. At the time the rancho was confirmed it
had a taxable value of $3,760, about eighty-five cents an acre, including
improvements. By 1863, while used mostly as a cattle ranch, the value had
risen to $5,078.
It is not known when the adobe ranch house was built, but by the mid-1860's
it becam2 stage stop for rest and food, on the two-day run to Los Angeles.
In 1868, for 3ome reasan, the ranch was again survejred,by Sherman Day, U. S.
Surveyor General, md was again conf<rmed, but with 8 T. W. Sutherland as
cmfirrr.e+2 and guardian for ,Andr&s Ybarra.
been surveyed in September, 1858, by John C. Hays, Deputy Surveyor, under
orders of "thd U. 3. hkrveyor General.") By 1868, Andr6s Ybarra was well
along in yezrs, x~d the ranelha was wid to Joseph S. !JIannaEise and Marcus
Schiller, San DieZJ merchants, un 3ecember 17th.
(Another note says the ranch hart
1danncls:;e 2nd Schiller stocked the rancho with cattle, bringing many from
Baja California. In addition, they made the ranch house more attractive to
;;tap pas:rengers, and it continzed to be an important stage station through
the 1870's. Service in the mid-sixties wits weekly, with Alfred Lazarus
Seeley operating stages taking abolrt thirty-four hours €or the trip, with
an overnight stop in San Juan Capjstrano. I3r 1868 there was service thee
times a week, leaving San Diego at 5:OO a. 5. on hionday, Wednesday, and
Friday. The Frsriklin House on Old Town was the point of departure; the line
was named "Unite4 3t:ites ::ail Stage Line." It made stops at "Qan Diegita,
Encini.tos"@? ranch, siice the town was not begun until the 188O@d
1,ui.s iiey, Ins Florea, San Juan Ctipistrano, Anaheim, Los Nietos, and got to
Los Angeles late on the second day.
San
In 1869, Seeley took Charles '//right as n partner, and throughout the 2870's
their stage ads ran under the names of Seeley and Wright;. Soon after the
Xorton House was completed in New San Diego, Seeley and Wright used it as
their San Diego teminal. The Bells 3nion Hotel in Los Aneeles was the
station at the northern end of the run. By 1870 they had increased their
service to daily except Sunday, and had cut a couple of hours off the time
schedule, reaching Los hge1es by 3t00 p. m, on the second day. Scelcy
thtir, bought the hndinj. house in Old Town, added 3 second floor to it, and
redtri.:tened it the "Cosmopolitan Iiotel.." It became the San 3iego head-
qu;rs&e~s, thou$ it *as soon 3 way-station for stages which left the IIorton
33use, departing at the much more reasonable hQ?lr af 9:OO a. m., still
witti iicl service on Sundays. Tots? tjme to hs Angelos WRS reduced to some
thirty hoiirs, irlc!.idinK the ovenzight st:)T in San Juan Capistrano. Fare in
187% mas $16.09 for the trip.
Competition from steamers and fron 9ther stace operators, intermittently,
le11 to a r:h:tfige to nii.;ht service in 1873, with departure from the !b,rton
House :it $:W p. m. In ,Jay, 1874, Seeley received delivery of the "Arizona,"
a new dgncoi*d c-tige weighins 1850 yowds. He ntnted that it was the heaviest
in scuthern California, and som increased service through a contract with
'dells, P~z_pgo t~ add 3- thrice-weekly trip to Julian and on to San Sernardino. Stilt,, anF. J, kdlurn, in kug~st, i3.73, began weekly service to San Bernar-
dino, le-tvin!; Zxr? 3iego at noon 3n Sunday, stopping at riancho Las Ehcinitdta,
spndinf; the night at, Temecda :it, the end of Xondrty, and reaching "Sari Ber-
~OCJ" late T:.exh;.
At tho en5 3f ;day, lP7!+, the Coast LiRe Stab@ Conip:tnj., operatisg from San
Fra-itisco to 50s Angeles, extended its service to San Diego by burin& out
Seel.ejr and ';!right: horses, c~cicb~.?, 1.33 harness. It kept the Seeley and
','/right rc:?crl:il.n::, too, alzd used Seeley and i'lrizht 3s agents for the company
unti-1 lorig haul s',age Tines ended in the 1880's. Running time, in goLd
we2ther, was cut in the later 1870's. 3y 1801 Lhere was a $6.00 fare to
;anta Ana, and thc Coast Line had already bebun to ?upply seventeen hoix
service, "all -in daylight," to Anabeim. Finally, in I.%rch, 1884, Seeley dvertised daily service, seven days a wt.ek, from San Diego to Sari Jum
Capistrano, whev mai 1 and passencers could connect with recelztly completed
railroads.
It was expected that the new California Southern Railroad would bring fatal
competition, but after a short. life it was washed out and the stages got an
extention until 1887. Then the railroads ended the Los Angeles-San Diego
stage runs.
Meanwhile, Supervisor Oliver 2. Mrden personally cleared a road closer to
the coast near Batiquitos lzgoiln early in the 1880's, cutting distance by
eliminating the old Ybarra Ranch House stage stop. He noted that the loop to the ranch house added many miles and slowed down the stage trip. Thus,
before the stage runs were stopped in 1887, the Ybarra station had been
eliminated.
In November, 1880, Frank A. amball and W. C, Kimball, after selling much of
htional City to the Santa Fe Railroad, bought the Encinitas Rancho from
Mannasse and Schiller. Temporarily, they leased it back to Ihnnasse for
1880-81; then for three more years it was leased to others, for cattle and
sheep raising, primarily. In October, 1884, however, the Olivenhain Company
was formed, and the fimballs sold Rancho Las Encinitas to it for $65,000.
The Olivenhain colony did not prosper, and in a settlement dated July 8,
1886, the Kimballs deeded 446 acres to the trustees, keeping the rest of
the ranch totaling ,+hut 4,000 acres.
Frank Kimball, especially, was a speculator. In 1893, to obtain capital for investments, he mortgaged Rancho Las acinitas for $25,000, and then
turned the property over to Warren Ximball. Three years later, as the
financial hard times of the mid-1890's continued, the Kimballs were sued
in superior court by the Pacific .&tual Life Insurance Company, seeking
payment of the $25,000 note. By May, 1897, figuring the whole 4,431 acres
to be worth only $l9,.300, Pacific Nfutual Life won a judgement, and fore-
closed on the Kimballs.
In 1902, the adobe ranch house and an adobe barn, apparently built only
after use of the ranch as a stage station, were sold, along with 92 acres,
to John Lux. In 191.0, Lux bought more land, eventually holding 2,400
acres, apparently the northern half of the ranch. He raised cattle as in
the days of .bnnasse and Company.
Completion of the coast line railroad, in November, 1885, shifted interest
and population to the coast. Tnc new city of Encinitas began early in the
1880's. Except for the handful of determined Olivenhain colonists, most of
Rancho Las kcinitas was almost deserted. The adobe structures began to
break apart, though as late as the 193013 observers noted that they were
still standing, in ruined condition. Then came the new wave of real estate
developers, largely after 1950, and houses began to press into the old ranch
property. Rerouting of the coast highway in the 1960% with construction of
Interstate 5 brought more attention to interior lands. It seemed that only
a few more years would be needed to obliterate the last of the Encinitaa
Rancho.
The determination of the City of Carlsbad to acquire part of the property,
especially that around the slight remainder of the ranch house and barn,
has given this portion assurance of permanence. With time, money, effort,
and determination, Stagecoach Park can well become a worthy reminder of the
days of the padres, the dons, and the Concord stages which were so prominent
in the first century of development which followed Spanish occupation of
Alta California.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The following were consulted in compiling this summary accounts
Brackett, R. W., The History of pieno Counts Jbnchost QDanis$,
Mexican, and American 0 ccuDatioq sf San ?ego Counts and the Story -- of the Own ershiD of Jland Grants therein San Diego, CAI Union Title
Insurance Company, 1939, 1940, 1947, 1951, 1960), about 70 pages--
varies with editions. "Sponsored by the 3an Diego Historical Society, ((
with foreword by James D. Forward (deceased May 16, 1978), wood engrav- ings by Fkank C. Barks. All accounts of the ranchos start with this.
Macdonald, Craig, "Old Adobe Walls Recall Heyday of Rancho Encinitas" (with
illustrations), San Diem Union, Sunday, Sept. 18, 1977, pagers F-1
Moyer, Cecil, "Family Histories Entwined With Story of Las Encinitas" (with
illustrations), San Diego Union, Sunday, May 19, 1968, pages G-1, G-2.
Phillips, Irene, "Las Encinitas Rancho and 'Olivenheim' ", San DieEo Histor- - ical Society Qxarterly, v01. VII, no. 3 (July, 1961), pp. 42-43.
Sleeper, Jim, "Stage Coach A Cornin'!: Seeby & Wright Express," The Rancho - San Joaquin Gazette, LMay, 1968 .
Ranch Company has the date of "July, 18769t but was issued in 1967.
covers mainly Los Angeles to San Juan Capistrano.
Brand Book Number 1968), pp. 137-141 and bibliography, pp. 142-144. Based largely on
newspaper files, supplemented by many scattered references.
Wright, William I., Wapid Transit in Pioneer Days, 'I (with illustrations
and maps), San Dieao Union, Sunday, March 29, 1936, World Features
Section, pp. 1 and 2; Sunday, April 19, 1936, World Features Section,
pp. 1 and 2. Covers largely area within San Diego city, but some on
stagecoaching to north. A third article in the series was not found.
Microfilm files on San Dieno Union. 1868-189Z, backed by microfiche index
in California Room, San Diego Public Library.
Incidental use of John Ilavidson, Some &gPieRo County place Names, vol. 1 (Jan. 1934), especially #32--Encinitas.
Maps of Auto Club of Southern California (San Diego County) and by Thomas
Brothers (San Mego County).
and F-6.
This brief publication by the Imine
It
Stott, Kenhelm W., "Fifty Years of Stagecoaching in Southern California, I'
(San Diegot San Diego Corral of the Westerners,
- Not consulted due to lack of time was Telfer, William Booth, Early Trans-
portation Arteries of San Diego Counts (unpublished master's thesis,
San Diego State College, 1951).
The California Room, San Diego Public Library, continues to be my major
research center. The staff continues to be most helpful and the still
growing collection is admirably managed.
The "Stagecoach Park" plaque, presented to the City of Carlsbad on May 21, 1978, by Squibob Chapter, 1853, E Clampus Vitus, was designed by the James H. Matthews and Company Bronze Division of Sun City and Romoland,
California, They currently prepare plaques for the State of California.
This plaque, the fourteenth by Squibob Chapter, ECV, was prepared for
award during Clampout Number 31, in recognition of the efforts and
plans of the City of Carlsbad for preservation and development of the
Andre/s Ybarra adobe and a portion of the Rancho Las Encinitas as the
new STAGECOACH PARK.
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