A special thank you to Mike Connolly of the Campo Band of the Kumeyaay Indians for his assistance in providing historical accuracy and clarification to some of the information contained here.
Star Ranch is a 2,150-acre ranch located west of the intersection of Buckman Springs Road and State Highway 94. The ranch’s familiar meadows south of Cameron Corners greet the many visitors to the Campo Valley who come there for a ride on the train, a tour of the old stone store or walk through the antique truck museum (Museum of Motor Transport). The land rises above the meadows to the west and hides a central valley where the ranch house, stables, and barn (where many dances have been held) are located. The wide central valley serves as one of the pastures for the cattle that graze there. Cattle are rotated throughout the ranch to graze in the various pastures, each with its own distinct nickname, at different times of the year. Beyond the central valley and separated by Bureau of Land Management property, the highest rocky and tree-covered elevations of Star Ranch rise more than 800’ above the central valley.
Star Ranch currently has the distinction of being the oldest, continuously operating ranch in San Diego County and is fast approaching its sesquicentennial celebration (150 years). The ranch has a long and interesting history. Much of it is recorded and much of it is not. I have the fortunate responsibility of planning for a new residential community set amongst the open space and pastures of the ranch and in the process, learning about the ranch’s history. Understanding a site’s past can help guide the direction of planning for the future of a project like Star Ranch. Like brushing dirt from a Native American pottery shard, uncovering the history can expose the potential to visualize a unique design. I would like to share my discoveries of Star Ranch’s history with the residents of the Campo Valley and Lake Morena Village in this and future editions of this publication. I caveat my monthly articles with the following statement. Since much of the history is not recorded, I have made an attempt to fill in the missing pieces with my own stories and conjecture.
The history of Star Ranch dates back as far as 1,000AD when indigenous Americans Kumeyaay, settled near the flowing waters of Campo Creek and the drainage course of Star Ranch’s central valley; however, human remains were recently found near Tecate that date 7-10,000 years ago. The Kumeyaay were located throughout southern California and northern Baja. The indigenous people of the Campo area named their village, “Emitl—kwatai” or “big meadow”. A later spelling “Milquatay” became more frequently used (The Spanish translation of Milquatay, “Campo”, meant “countryside”). They lived in clans called Sh’mulqs. A village may have people from several clans living on it. A clan may cover many village sites. Land ownership was a practice unbeknownst to the Kumeyaay. They
believed in territoriality, but not ownership. The Emitl-kwatai village of approximately 300 Kumeyaay Indians built huts made from willow, cottonwood trees, yucca twine, and brush here. Settlements were seasonal and the Kumeyaay migrated up and down the mountains according to the seasons. Timed with the ripening of major edible plants and mild weather, the Kumeyaay preferred to live at Emitl-kwatai from March through early June. They sat under oak trees at the site where the existing Star Ranch house now stands and ground acorns with granite milling stones to create a mush known as sha’wee. The acorn mush was usually sweetened with honey or wild fruits gathered from the abundent plant life throughout the valley and surrounding higher elevations. Milling stones can be spotted at Star Ranch and many areas throughout the Campo Valley. The Kumeyaay men would follow the trails through Hauser Canyon to hunt for deer and rabbit meat or Cottonwood Creek for waterfowl. Hauser Canyon would play an important role to the future of the Campo Valley and Star Ranch.
The history of San Diego and southern California ultimately had an impact on the Campo Valley and Star Ranch. In 1542, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo landed at a site on the area now known as San Diego. It was the first time a European expedition set foot on the west coast of the United States. Cabrillo declared the land as a possession of the King of Spain.
In a little more than 200 years, the first Spanish mission was established in San Diego. The Kumeyaay strongly resisted conversion to Christianity. In order to provide safety to colonists in the west, the first military outpost was established at the Presidio. As more and more colonists move inland away from the coast, the Kumeyaay territories were pushed further east. Kumeyaay tribes moved nearer the direction of the Campo Valley and the site now known as Star Ranch. These were the independent Kumeyaay. The Kumeyaay who converted and assimilated became part of the Spanish and later the Mexican society. Villages were known to increase in size to as many as 1,000 inhabitants.
In 1821, Mexico gained its independence from Spain. Under the new Mexican republic, governors were encouraged to make land grants for individual “ranchos” throughout California. New rancho owners were required to raise cattle.
Due in large part to his father’s active role in the Mexican revolution and his own public service to the City of San Diego, the Mexican republic granted extensive properties, “ranchos”, to Juan Bandin (1800-1859) north and south of the border at Tecate. Ownership occurred during 1833 to 1844. He had eight children who inherited much of the lands of his ranchos. Although records are vague, it is likely that portions of the property now known as Star Ranch were once owned by a member of the famous Bandini family. This we know, Star Ranch was once called “Rancho del Florso” or Ranch of the Sunflowers.
By 1844, however, all the ranches east of San Diego were abandoned due to a multitude of conflicts with the Kumeyaay. At that time, the population of San Diego fell to around 120. In 1846, the United States declared war on Mexico; two years of battle and the Treaty of Hidalgo ends the war. San Diego remained a military outpost and California is granted statehood in 1850.
In 1851, Captain Nathaniel Lyon sets out from his outpost in San Diego to search for a new route eastward. He follows the familiar trails of the Kumeyaay through Hauser Canyon and Cottonwood Creek to an area within view of the Campo Valley. Lyon chronicled his trek in a journal, “…one of the most remarkable mountain gorges in nature, having on either side, high, steep mountains, covered with huge granite blocks. Though the rocks appeared impassable from a distance, the trail opened onto a fine valley, having grass and water and beautiful oak groves, and extending along the foot of the mountains most of the distance to the high country. High undulating country stretches far in every direction, oak groves, valleys, grass and water extending north and south." This entry in his journal is his description of his trek through the Hauser Canyon. Upon exiting the canyon, Lyon is likely to have described the vistas of the Campo Valley and Star Ranch. Lyon was the first non-indigenous American to see the Star Ranch and Campo Valley. Captain Lyon was later transferred to St. Louis, Missouri during the Civil War where he was promoted to General. He met an unfortunate demise. Lyon was the first general killed in the line of duty during the Civil War.
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