Palm City, San Diego
Encyclopedia
Palm City is a neighborhood in the southern
section of San Diego. It neighbors Otay Mesa West
to the south and east, Egger Highlands
and Nestor
to the west, and Chula Vista to the north. It also serves as a gateway to the beach cities of Imperial Beach
, and Coronado
, by way of the Silver Strand
isthmus
, due to it being where California State Route 75
meets Interstate 5
. Major thoroughfares include Coronado Avenue, Hollister Street, Beyer Boulevard, and Palm Avenue.
in 1934. The U.S. Land Commission
rejected his claim, opening up the area to homesteading
which lead to the creation of communities in the area.
Palm City was established in 1914, and named for the palms lining Palm Avenue. Indeed, the original name for the area was "Palm Avenue", until the post office
declared that name unsuitable. That same year, the county opened up a library branch to serve the community. Even a year before it was established, it was the terminus of a small railway, the Mexico & San Diego Railway, that ran to Imperial Beach, and operated two cars.
During the 1916 Hatfield
flood, the community was temporarily cut off from San Diego, when the waters from the Lower Otay Lake broke through the Lower Otay Dam
, and washed away the San Diego & Arizona Railway's bridge over the Otay River
.
In 1926, the community was all of 250 persons. Prior to the internment during World War II
, the city was home to the Iguchi brothers, who farmed seventy acres in the community. By 1942, the community had grown to a population of 720. With the end of World War II, the community became population concentration area for returning Japanese Americans. Beginning in 1952 the community maintained its own sanitation
district; it was annexed by the city in 1963. Palm City, along with other portions of South San Diego, was annexed from San Diego County in 1957.
In 1983, the community experienced damage due to an earthquake, 4.6 on the Richter scale, that occurred ten miles off the coast, in the Pacific Ocean
. It was stated by the California Institute of Technology
at the time to be the "largest quake to hit San Diego since 1932,".
In 2004, using DNA evidence, a convicted felon rapist was found to be responsible for the torture and killing of two boys
who went missing in Palm City, near the Otay River, in 1993. He had previously been convicted of a rape that occurred seven months after he had murdered the minors. The felon was sentenced to death, and is housed at San Quentin State Prison
.
established the post during its border service
. The United States Army
, maintained Camp Lawrence J. Hearn, in honor of Major Hearn of the 21st Infantry Regiment
, in response to the Mexican Civil War, and was manned by the 1st Cavalry Regiment. It was abandoned in August 1920, but re-established by the 11th Cavalry Regiment in October of that same year. Brigadier General F.C. Marshall
visited the post just before he died in a plane crash, traveling to Tucson, Arizona
. Until 1921, the post had no structures, and consisted of a tent cantonment; soldiers requiring medical care would be sent to Fort Rosecrans for treatment. However, conditions on the post did not improve significantly, and was described by Army Chief of Staff
Major General
Summerall
as being like a "logging camp", composed of "tumbledown shacks". In 1924, cavalrymen from the post assisted local officers, and federal agents in enforcing a 9 P.M. curfew
at the international border crossing. It continued to be in use until it was abandoned in 1931. Later the former post was considered by the Coastal Artillery Corps
for the site of a battery
, however this was never built.
's blue line that has a station
within its boundaries.
. Secondary
students who reside in this neighborhood, are served by the Sweetwater Union High School District
which has Montgomery Senior High School
in neighboring West Otay Mesa.
South San Diego
South San Diego is a district in San Diego, California, within a larger region known as the South Bay.-History:Before the arrival of the Spanish explorers, area of South San Diego was largely inhabited by the Digueno people...
section of San Diego. It neighbors Otay Mesa West
Otay Mesa West, San Diego
Otay Mesa West is a residential neighborhood in the southern section of San Diego. It borders Interstate 805 to the east, Interstate 5 to the west, and California State Route 905 to the south. It neighbors Ocean View Hills to the east, Nestor and Palm City to the west and Chula Vista to the north....
to the south and east, Egger Highlands
Egger Highlands, San Diego
Egger Highlands is a residential neighborhood in the southern section of San Diego. It neighbors Palm City and Nestor to the east, San Diego Bay to the north, Imperial Beach to the southwest and Chula Vista to the northeast...
and Nestor
Nestor, San Diego
Nestor is a residential neighborhood in the southern section of San Diego, and part of the Otay Mesa-Nestor community planning area. It neighbors Palm City and Otay Mesa West to the east, Egger Highlands to the north, San Ysidro to the southeast and the Tijuana River Valley to the south...
to the west, and Chula Vista to the north. It also serves as a gateway to the beach cities of Imperial Beach
Imperial Beach, California
Imperial Beach is a residential beach city in San Diego County, California, with a population of 26,324 at the 2010 census. The city is the most southern beach city in Southern California and the West Coast of the United States...
, and Coronado
Coronado, California
Coronado, also known as Coronado Island, is an affluent resort city located in San Diego County, California, 5.2 miles from downtown San Diego. Its population was 24,697 at the 2010 census, up from 24,100 at the 2000 census. U.S. News and World Report lists Coronado as one of the most expensive...
, by way of the Silver Strand
Silver Strand (San Diego)
Silver Strand, or simply The Strand, is a low, narrow, sandy isthmus long in San Diego County, California partially within the Silver Strand State Beach. It connects Coronado "Island" with Imperial Beach. Together with the Point Loma peninsula it shelters and defines San Diego Bay...
isthmus
Isthmus
An isthmus is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas usually with waterforms on either side.Canals are often built through isthmuses where they may be particularly advantageous to create a shortcut for marine transportation...
, due to it being where California State Route 75
California State Route 75
State Route 75 is a short, expressway in the U.S. state of California. It is a loop route of Interstate 5 in the Barrio Logan Community in San Diego and the route ends at Interstate 5 in South San Diego near San Ysidro...
meets Interstate 5
Interstate 5 in California
Interstate 5 is a major north–south route of the Interstate Highway System in the U.S. state of California. It begins at the Mexico – United States border at the San Ysidro crossing, goes north across the length of California and crosses into Oregon south of the Medford-Ashland metropolitan...
. Major thoroughfares include Coronado Avenue, Hollister Street, Beyer Boulevard, and Palm Avenue.
History
Prior to the Mexican-American War the area that is today Palm City was part of Rancho La Punta, sometimes referred to as Rancho Milijo, granted to Santiago Emilio ArguelloSantiago E. Arguello
Santiago E. Arguello Santiago E. Arguello, son of Santiago Arguello, was born August 18, 1813. Collector of revenue at San Diego he took part in the civil conflict against Alvarado in 1836-1837 and was a Deputy in assembly in 1845-46...
in 1934. The U.S. Land Commission
Public Land Commission
The Public Land Commission, a former agency of the United States government, was created following the admission of California as a state in 1850 . The Commission's purpose was to determine the validity of prior Spanish and Mexican land grants in California.California Senator William M...
rejected his claim, opening up the area to homesteading
Homesteading
Broadly defined, homesteading is a lifestyle of simple self-sufficiency.-Current practice:The term may apply to anyone who follows the back-to-the-land movement by adopting a sustainable, self-sufficient lifestyle. While land is no longer freely available in most areas of the world, homesteading...
which lead to the creation of communities in the area.
Palm City was established in 1914, and named for the palms lining Palm Avenue. Indeed, the original name for the area was "Palm Avenue", until the post office
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
declared that name unsuitable. That same year, the county opened up a library branch to serve the community. Even a year before it was established, it was the terminus of a small railway, the Mexico & San Diego Railway, that ran to Imperial Beach, and operated two cars.
During the 1916 Hatfield
Charles Hatfield
Charles Mallory Hatfield was an American "rainmaker". He was born in Fort Scott, Kansas in 1875 or 1876. His family moved to southern California in the 1880s. As an adult, he became a salesman for the New Home Sewing Machine Company...
flood, the community was temporarily cut off from San Diego, when the waters from the Lower Otay Lake broke through the Lower Otay Dam
Savage Dam
Savage Dam is a dam across the Otay River in southern San Diego County, California. It is a concrete arch gravity structure high, and serves to store water from the San Diego Aqueduct's 3rd Pipeline for backup municipal uses in the San Diego metropolitan area. It lies just over east-southeast of...
, and washed away the San Diego & Arizona Railway's bridge over the Otay River
Otay River
The Otay River is a river in southern San Diego County, California. The river begins at San Miguel Mountain, flows through the Upper- and Lower- Otay Reservoirs, and continues on between the southern part of the Chula Vista and the Otay Mesa West district of San Diego, and empties into San Diego Bay...
.
In 1926, the community was all of 250 persons. Prior to the internment during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the city was home to the Iguchi brothers, who farmed seventy acres in the community. By 1942, the community had grown to a population of 720. With the end of World War II, the community became population concentration area for returning Japanese Americans. Beginning in 1952 the community maintained its own sanitation
Wastewater Treatment
Wastewater treatment may refer to:* Sewage treatment* Industrial wastewater treatment...
district; it was annexed by the city in 1963. Palm City, along with other portions of South San Diego, was annexed from San Diego County in 1957.
In 1983, the community experienced damage due to an earthquake, 4.6 on the Richter scale, that occurred ten miles off the coast, in the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. It was stated by the California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
at the time to be the "largest quake to hit San Diego since 1932,".
In 2004, using DNA evidence, a convicted felon rapist was found to be responsible for the torture and killing of two boys
Murder of Charlie Keever
The Murder of Charlie Keever and Jonathan Sellers occurred on March 27, 1993, in San Diego County, California. The murders of both boys was solved via a DNA match after a delay of eight years.-The victims:...
who went missing in Palm City, near the Otay River, in 1993. He had previously been convicted of a rape that occurred seven months after he had murdered the minors. The felon was sentenced to death, and is housed at San Quentin State Prison
San Quentin State Prison
San Quentin State Prison is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men in unincorporated San Quentin, Marin County, California, United States. Opened in July 1852, it is the oldest prison in the state. California's only death row for male inmates, the largest...
.
Camp Lawrence J. Hearn
Beginning in 1916, the Third Oregon Infantry162nd Infantry Regiment (United States)
The 162nd Infantry Regiment is a regiment of the Oregon Army National Guard with headquarters in Springfield, Oregon. In January, 2006 as part of the Army's transformation towards a modular force, the 1st Battalion, 162nd Infantry Regiment was inactivated...
established the post during its border service
Mexican Border Service Medal
The Mexican Border Service Medal was a decoration of the United States military which was established by an act of the United States Congress on July 9, 1918...
. The United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, maintained Camp Lawrence J. Hearn, in honor of Major Hearn of the 21st Infantry Regiment
21st Infantry Regiment (United States)
The 21st Infantry Regiment is a United States Army infantry regiment.-Lineage:*Constituted 3 May 1861 in the Regular Army as the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry*Organized 20 May 1862 at Fort Hamilton, New York...
, in response to the Mexican Civil War, and was manned by the 1st Cavalry Regiment. It was abandoned in August 1920, but re-established by the 11th Cavalry Regiment in October of that same year. Brigadier General F.C. Marshall
Francis Marshall (general)
Francis C. Marshall was a Brigadier General in the United States Army during World War I. He served as commanding officer of the 2nd Infantry Brigade, 1st Infantry Division...
visited the post just before he died in a plane crash, traveling to Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
. Until 1921, the post had no structures, and consisted of a tent cantonment; soldiers requiring medical care would be sent to Fort Rosecrans for treatment. However, conditions on the post did not improve significantly, and was described by Army Chief of Staff
Chief of Staff of the United States Army
The Chief of Staff of the Army is a statutory office held by a four-star general in the United States Army, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Army, and as such is the principal military advisor and a deputy to the Secretary of the Army; and is in...
Major General
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
Summerall
Charles Pelot Summerall
Charles Pelot Summerall was a U.S. general. He fought in World War I, and was Army Chief of Staff between 1926 and 1930. He was also the President of The Citadel between 1931 and 1953.-Early life and career:...
as being like a "logging camp", composed of "tumbledown shacks". In 1924, cavalrymen from the post assisted local officers, and federal agents in enforcing a 9 P.M. curfew
Curfew
A curfew is an order specifying a time after which certain regulations apply. Examples:# An order by a government for certain persons to return home daily before a certain time...
at the international border crossing. It continued to be in use until it was abandoned in 1931. Later the former post was considered by the Coastal Artillery Corps
U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps
The U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps was a Corps level organization responsible for coastal and harbor defense of the United States between 1901 and 1950.-History:...
for the site of a battery
Artillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
, however this was never built.
Facilities and landmarks
Palm City is home to two shopping centers, as well as Sunnyslope Park. The community is served by the San Diego TrolleySan Diego Trolley
The San Diego Trolley is a light rail system operating in the metropolitan area of San Diego. The operator, San Diego Trolley, Inc. , is a subsidiary of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System ...
's blue line that has a station
Palm Avenue (San Diego Trolley station)
Palm Avenue is a station of the Blue line on the San Diego Trolley. It is located in Palm City neighborhood of the city. The stop serves a variety of purposes, holding the function of commuter center with a park and ride lot and to provide access to the nearby commercial and residential areas....
within its boundaries.
Education
Sunnyslope Elementary School, of the South Bay Union School District, serves Palm City. Private schools include Midway Baptist Pre-SchoolMidway Baptist Schools
Ocean View Christian Academy is a school serving grades K-12 in San Diego, California.-External links:*...
. Secondary
Secondary education in the United States
In most jurisdictions, secondary education in the United States refers to the last six or seven years of statutory formal education. Secondary education is generally split between junior high school or middle school, usually beginning with sixth or seventh grade , and high school, beginning with...
students who reside in this neighborhood, are served by the Sweetwater Union High School District
Sweetwater Union High School District
The Sweetwater Union High School District is a school district headquartered in Chula Vista, California. , the school district is the largest secondary school district in California....
which has Montgomery Senior High School
Montgomery High School, San Diego
Montgomery High School is a four year public high school located in the city of San Diego, California. It opened in 1970 and is situated today in Otay Mesa. Montgomery High School serves more than 2,500 students. Montgomery High School is named after pioneer aviator John J. Montgomery who made...
in neighboring West Otay Mesa.