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In 1868, Frank Kimball and his brothers purchased a 26,000-acre Mexican land grant rancho in the San Diego area. The area comprised the present-day communities of National City, Bonita, and the western half of Chula Vista. Kimball developed National City first and secured a branch of the Santa Fe Railway. The railroad company financed the building of nearby Sweetwater Dam, thus allowing the development of Chula Vista in 1888 as a planned agricultural community. Chula Vista remained as planned until World War II when the arrival of Rohr Aircraft Corporation caused a population boom that would continue even after the war, creating the desirable "bedroom community" that Chula Vista is today.
About the author
Frank M. Roseman, a Chula Vista super volunteer, was asked by the library director in 1991 to develop the Chula Vista Heritage Museum in a small building in Memorial Park. For the next 10 years, Frank worked thousands of hours to collect, catalog, archive, and display the history of Chula Vista. Donna Golden, Chula Vista Public Library local history librarian, is the curator of the city's photograph collection and was instrumental to the completion of this book. Peter J. Watry Jr. is active in the Chula Vista Heritage Museum, has edited the museum's newsletter, and enjoys presenting the history of Chula Vista to schoolchildren and others.
