John D. Spreckels sailed into San Diego’s harbor to restock his yacht in 1887 and was so impressed with the real estate boom that was occurring at the time, he invested in the construction of a wharf there. Thus began a life-long interest and building investment in the City of San Diego.  In 1896, with money earned from the lucrative Hawaiian sugar cane business begun by his father, he organized the Southern California Mountain Water Company, which built the Lake Morena Dam that would supply water to the city of San Diego. The San Diego region has extensive water resources, but the people have not settled where the water is concentrated. Along the immediate coastal region where the population resides, there is an average rainfall of ten inches per year, while the mountains to the east average thirty to forty inches of rain per year. In order for San Diego to expand, it became necessary to build numerous reservoirs in the mountains to trap excess water and bring it to the city. Thus, the Mountain Empire region became vital to San Diego’s ability to grow and expand. 

Harvesting sugar cane

While Spreckels earned his fortune in sugar cane on the Island of Maui, the popularity and growth of the sugar cane industry during the 1880’s briefly spread to Star Ranch. Star Ranch attempted to grow the crop in 1884, but it proved to be unsuccessful.  While sugar cane requires flat alluvial soils that are found in areas on Star Ranch, the plant needs 12-18 months to reach maturity, is normally grown in tropical environments,. and requires intense cultivation. When the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 destroyed the city, Spreckels moved to San Diego permanently. 

Klauber Wangenheim purchased the old stone store n 1889.  Ed Aiken purchases it in 1896.

In 1911, the 2-story Campo Hotel and Customs House were built near the old stone store.  A horse-drawn  stage line operated until about 1912 under various ownerships until open  touring cars became the  chief A typical touring car from that period

mode of travel.  Even then, settlers still came by wagon to settle in California all before Highway 80 existed.  Old Highway 94 was the main route from San Diego to Yuma and points east.  The other alternative was a two-day trip to Los Angeles and east from there.  The road was constantly being worked on and upgraded. Keep in mind that around this time, there were less than 200-miles of paved roads in the entire country.Capitalists, bank presidents and railway agents often found themselves at the Campo Hotel where Ed Aiken, the host and owner of parcels now known as Star Ranch, had provided fried chicken. Aiken continued operation of the Campo Ranch until 1923 when he sold it to Byron Walters.

The Warren Hotel near the old Feldspar Mill (currently known as the Museum of Motor Transport) was built around 1913 and it served as another popular resting place for weary travelers.  Even though the hotel had only two hotel rooms, at times, it served up to 100 chicken dinners a day.  The hotel got the nickname “Bloody Bucket” because of all the hens that were slaughtered for the popular chicken dinners. The Campo Hotel and the Warren Hotel competed to see who could serve the most (and best) chicken dinners in the Campo Valley. 

In 1855, Amos Buckman purchased land in Napa Soda Springs in the Napa Valley. Buckman bottled and sold the soda water for its health benefits. Legal battles over ownership of the land that Buckman purchased followed for the next eight years.  In 1861, The Napa Reporter ran a story that stated while Buckman was away discussing his case with regional legal authorities, Mrs. Buckman and the workers were attacked at the springs, beaten, and their bottling works destroyed.  After this incident, for fear of another attack, Amos fled Napa and moved to the Mountain Empire area.  He acquired land in what was then called Chelleno Valley, now the Buckman Springs area. Buckman Springs was also called Soda Springs after the famous Napa resort town. Based on his previous business venture in Napa, his motivation was to capitalize on natural springs that flowed into Cottonwood Creek. There were some sixteen spring outflows along the creek. The springs provided ‘healthy’ amounts of carbonated water that contained lithium and iron. Lithia waters were popular for relieving rheumatism and muscle aches and a variety of health concerns.  A 1912 advertisement in the San Diego Union claimed “highly recommended as an appetizer before and with meals”.  Amos opened a health resort by establishing a tent city to host travelers that came for the restorative powers of the Lithia water. In later years Buckman Springs health resort boasted some sixteen buildings including a hotel, café, feed store, gas station, residences, and a bottling plant that began operation in 1912.  The bottled Lithia waters were so popular that they were shipped to as faraway as Europe. Beginning in the 1930’s, the bottling plant began to concentrate on soda pop.  Water was dipped from the springs along Cottonwood Creek, and flavoring and sugar were added to make soda pop.  Amos died in 1898, but his spirit is rumored to haunt the grounds of Buckman Springs.