Rancho Santa Fe

History

=== "Rancho San Dieguito" land grant=== In 1841, Rancho San Dieguito, as it was originally named, was a Mexican land grant of from Governor Pío Pico of Alta California to Juan Maria Osuna, the first alcalde (mayor) of the Pueblo of San Diego. === Railway usage for lumber === In 1906, the Santa Fe Railway, a subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway under Walter E. Hodges, purchased the entire land grant to plant 3.5 million blue gum eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus) trees for use as railroad ties, but the wood proved too soft to hold railroad spikes. Just weeks before they were to put the land grant on the market, Ed Fletcher (the prominent San Diego land and water developer) convinced the railroad that they could recoup their losses by developing the lands into an agricultural (horticultural and floricultural) district and sell ranch plots to the public. The railroad then formed the Santa Fe Land Improvement Company to develop a planned community of country estates. In 1918, the Santa Fe Land & Improvement Co completed the Lake Hodges Dam and San Dieguito Dam thus complementing the Lower Otay Dam / Savage Dam and providing sufficient water for the agricultural vision of the Santa Fe Irrigation District (providing water for Rancho Santa Fe but also for Fletcher's downstream developments of the Del Mar and Solana Beach communities). At the time of the filing of the map in 1921, the developed from the original Rancho San Dieguito land grant were renamed "Rancho Santa Fe". === Master planning and construction === In 1921, architect Lilian Rice, working under Requa and Jackson, was chosen to develop the community's master plan. Rice worked through to 1927, designing, supervising, and constructing the village center, as well as several homes. The…

Geography

Rancho Santa Fe is located at (33.023943, -117.200110). According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of . of it is land and of it (1.07%) is water. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Rancho Santa Fe has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps. The climate of Rancho Santa Fe is, for the most part, typical of the San Diego metropolitan area though its higher elevation and inland location lends itself to larger temperature variations.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• San Marcos High
  High · San Marcos · 3,380 students · 27:1 ratio
• Mission Hills High
  High · San Marcos · 2,893 students · 27:1 ratio
• Torrey Pines High
  High · San Diego · 2,614 students · 25.6:1 ratio
• Del Norte High
  High · San Diego · 2,531 students · 26.6:1 ratio
• Canyon Crest Academy
  High · San Diego · 2,336 students · 27.5:1 ratio
• Rancho Bernardo High
  High · San Diego · 2,318 students · 26:1 ratio
• Westview High
  High · San Diego · 2,257 students · 25.1:1 ratio
• Mira Mesa High
  High · San Diego · 2,219 students · 25.2:1 ratio