Interesting Books To Read About Our Area:

Two Years Before the Mast
By Richard Henry Dana, published 1840
In his popular book, Dana wrote of his1835 visit to California in the Boston trading vessel, the Pilgrim.
Dana's primary subject was the life of a sailor, but he includes much useful information on
the sites he visited.

Ramona
By Helen Hunt Jackson, published c 1884

History of San Diego
By William Ellsworth Smythe, published 1907
courtesy of Prof. Steven Schoenherr, University of San Diego Dept. of History

Off the Main Road
By Charles R. LeMenager. Ramona, CA
This volume covers the San Vicente and Barona Valley.

Ramona and Round About 
By Charles R. LeMenager. Ramona, CA
This volume covers the history of the Santa Maria and Santa Ysabel Ranchos and the area in between.

Julian City and Cuyamaca Country: A History and Guide to the Past and Present
By Charles R. LeMenager. Ramona, CA: Eagle Peak Publishing Company, 1992. Bibliography. Illustrations. Maps. Index. 255 pages. This is the third book in his "historical trilogy" about San Diego's back country. The author relates the story of the discovery of gold during the winter of 1869-1870 and the founding of Julian City by ex-Confederate soldiers. It  presents the histories of Julian City, Banner, Cuyamaca Rancho/Cuyamaca State Park and nearby areas. It carries the reader from the time of the Indians up to 1992.

Journal of San Diego History
All issues of the Journal of San Diego History are available for use in the Research Archives at Balboa Park, home to an extensive collections which document the people, places and events of San Diego's past. In keeping with current practice, original Roman numerals have been changed to Arabic: for example, Volume Fourteen, Number 3, Page 23 (XIV:3:23) would be listed  as 14:3:23.
You can read about the history of the lands that comprise the area around Mountain Valley Ranch by looking up:
    Stokes, Edward R., 22:1:13; 27:4:249
    Stokes, Don Eduardo, 43:121
    Santa Maria Valley: mentioned, 15:2:7; photograph(s), 6:3:85
    Santa Ysabel. See Mission Santa Ysabel and Rancho Santa Ysabel
    Ortega Family, 11:3:7
    Ortega, Antonio M., 15:4:32
    Ortega, Beatriz Sanchez de, 19:3:1
    Ortega, Diegosanchez de, 19:3:1
    Ortega, Jose Francisco: builds wall to the San Diego Presidio, 2:3:41; commander of San Diego Presidio, 5:1:6;first white child and, 3:3:36-37; mentioned, 13:3:21; 14:3:9; 19:1:3
    Ortega, Jose Jesus, 15:4:32
    Ortega, Jose Joaquin, 17:1:4,13
    Ortega-Stokes Rancho, 6:3:85

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Revised: 29 Jun 2006 08:03:11 -0700.