5 Historical Facts About Poway

1. Did the railroad ever come to Poway?

According to Louhelen Elizabeth Hassan’s book Paguay, articles appearing in the Poway Progress from October 1895 to October 1896 described some of the activities centering on the prospect of bringing the railroad to Poway.

During a meeting at Good Templers Hall on Nov. 2, 1895, the Pacific Beach Railroad proposed a rail expansion from San Diego to Ramona, with a stop in the area of Poway and Pomerado Roads then known as the town of Merton.

The proposal stipulated that people along the route contribute $150,000 in money or land. Work would begin 60 days after the execution of contracts and the railroad would be in running order eight months after that. A committee chaired by L.E. Kent agreed to canvas Poway residents for subscriptions.

After an enthusiastic beginning, support waned. Finally, in October 1896 D.B. McIver began returning the notes to those who had given them for the San Diego and Ramona railroad. So ended the prospect of the railroad coming to Poway.

2.  Who built the Big Stone Lodge located on Old Pomerado Road?

The following excerpt is from an interview of Bill Otis that appeared in the Feb. 10, 1973, issue of the Poway News Chieftain.

In 1923, the enterprising Otis turned his attention to new endeavors, which included helping to build Big Stone Lodge.

“It was a fellow named Daniel Stuck who got me involved in hauling rocks to build Big Stone,” said Bill. According to Bill, Stuck, who had 12 children, needed work and a friend of his, a Dr. Hansen from Los Angeles, put up the money and hired Stuck to build Big Stone. 

“I had an old Model T truck with hard tires and a chain drive,” said Otis, “which I bought from John Lawson, and I hauled the rocks which were used to build the main building and the fireplace at Big Stone.” According to Bill, the rocks came from a hillside west of what is now Carriage Road. 

3. When did the first telephone exchange arrive in Poway?

The following excerpt is from an interview of Bill Otis that appeared in the Feb. 10, 1973, issue of the Poway News Chieftain.

“It was around 1927 or ’28,” recalled Bill, “that the telephone company installed the first Poway exchange in our house.

“We didn’t have a lot of room in that house,” Bill added, laughing, “but they managed to rig up a switchboard with which we could service the 8 or 9 telephones that were installed in Poway.

“You probably wouldn’t remember it, but in those days we had a system of short and long rings to distinguish calls. Once in a while you would get mixed up on the rings,” Bill continued. “And that would cause a little confusion, especially if it happened to be 3 o’clock in the morning.”

For maintaining the switchboard on a 24-hour-a-day basis, Bill received the grand sum of $15 per month. 

4. Ninth Street is the only numeric street in Poway. What happened to 8th and 10th?

According to Louhelen Elizabeth Hassan’s book Paguay, The San Diego Union reported that Mary Beardsley, a widow since January 1882, sold her property to a party interested in putting the Paine Ranch property on the market for $10,000. That unidentified party filed a subdivision map March 7, 1888, for a site named Poway.

The street and lot layouts bear almost no resemblance to today’s Poway. The name of the north-south road has changed from Escondido to Pomerado, though it parallels the route that always ran through Paine Ranch property. Of the east-west streets prosaically named Third through Tenth, only Ninth remains.

The planner exhibited support for the hoped-for railroad by dedicating two lots as a railroad station east of Escondido Road, bordering the east half of Lake Guajitis. The railroad right of way lay east of the depot.

5. When did the first school bus for the Pomerado School District arrive in Poway?

The following excerpt is from an interview of Bill Otis that appeared in the Feb. 10, 1973, issue of the Poway News Chieftain.

With the formation of the new Pomerado School District in 1923, Bill bought a new flatbed Model T truck, following his successful bid on a contract to haul youngsters to the Pomerado, Merton and Bernardo Schools.

“I built that bus from the bed up,” said Bill, “right at the place where I bought it in Escondido.”

Bill hauled Poway students to the three schools for a period of six to seven years. His pay, including the expense of the operation, was $160 per month.

The Poway Historical Society welcomes questions regarding Poway’s history. Please visit the society’s website at http://powayhistoricalsociety.org for more information. While there, take the quiz on the origin of Poway street names.