Valley Center, a small rural community originally known as Bear Valley, is located inland in northern San Diego county 45 miles northeast of San Diego. It is unincorporated and has no formal town council. Never planned, it developed as large tracts of land that were single-family farms or ranches. The roads were not planned either, but developed as a means of travel between farms or ranches, and usually named after the families or the destination.

It consisted of small communities such as Lilac, Vineyard, Sylvano, Moosa, Bear Valley, Palomar Mountain, Warner’s Ranch, and Centre Valley. It is surrounded by five Indian Reservations and is fringed by the largest intact Spanish rancho in the United States.

Its history is an interesting piece of Americana. Prior to settlement by emigrants, the Native Americans occupied the land for thousands of years. The climate was mild with rainy winters summers with six months or more of moderate temperatures. Food was plentiful and fairly easy to acquire. The inhabitants were named Luiseno by the Spanish who claimed the land in the late 1700s and built missions along California with the closest being the San Luis Rey de Francia.

Archaeological sites attest to the length of time Native Americans lived in this area. The oldest date back 6,000 to 7,000 years ago. Most sites consist of grinding stations used to process acorns and grain, usually near a small village or family cluster. The many varieties of oaks in the valley provided acorns for necessary fat in the people’s diet and shade from the heat. The coastline, a day’s hike of 20 miles to the west, provided shellfish and bountiful fish products.

Valley Center was never part of a Spanish land grant. At the end of the war with Mexico in 1847, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hildago transferred thousands of acres of unclaimed land in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. To establish right of ownership, the U.S. government created the Homestead Act of 1862 which allowed the area to be settled by Americans.

The settlers to this valley were basically farmers who capitalized on this act to claim up to 160 acres of government land for a nominal filing fee of $10 between1860-1900. Many were immigrants from foreign lands while others emigrated to the newly opened western United States from other areas. All were striving for a decent existence on land of their own. Once they provided the claim’s office with proof of habitation and improvement after five years, they were given the property deed free and clear.
Many emigrants traveled to VC by crossing the U.S. in oxen, horse, or mule-driven wagons and arrived with little money.

Hardships along the way included harsh weather, sickness, and occasionally, hostile Native Americans. Friendships formed during these journeys often lasted a lifetime. These people usually settled near each other and their families intermarried over the years. Besides farmers and ranchers, they were blacksmiths, beekeepers, storekeepers, physicians and teachers. Famous movie stars and diplomats were also attracted here.

The Valley Center School District formed in 1918 to include seven school districts: Valley Center, Bear Valley, Vesper, Victor, Mountain View, Lilac and Watkins. These schools were started on family property to educate the surrounding children. The school census of 1920 included 40 students. Teachers taught first through eighth grade in one-room schools. Higher learning consisted of attending schools in San Diego or Escondido. Valley Center High School, built in 1998, has more than 2,000 students.

The original name of Bear Valley was given to the community after a settler encountered the largest grizzly bear found in this area: over 2,200 pounds. The postal commission denied the first post office application filed under the name Bear Valley in 1874, because there was another town by that name in Mariposa County. The claimant, John T. Adams, erased the name "Bear" and filed it with the name “Valley.” The application was granted and the area name changed. After a few years, the word "Centre" was added and later changed to the present day spelling of Valley Center.

The Valley Center Municipal Water District was formed in 1953 and forever changed the valley. Dry-farming techniques were no longer required. Droughts were not a problem and allowed citrus and avocado groves to thrive.

The Valley Center area is still economically based in agriculture. Few of the original pioneering families still own land in the valley, but their roots go deep. Much of the success of San Diego County is owed to these pioneers who not only created an existence for themselves and their families out of nothing, but also added to the wealth and prosperity of San Diego as a whole through their hard work and innovations. With the new millennium, Valley Center has joined neighboring communities in population, housing, and schools. New businesses, schools, housing developments, Indian Reservation gambling, and wider roads greet newcomers to the area. A sewer system is still not present, the livestock still outnumber the human inhabitants, and there are no shopping malls or large corporate businesses. However, the feel of the country remains and its citizens maintain a sense of community pride that is rarely seen today.

A new San Diego County Library recently constructed sits on a low hill overlooking the valley. Located on the same property, the Valley Center History Museum, a not-for-profit organization, will be open in the spring of 2003 and will archive, display and preserve the history of our area. School children and residents, as well as visiting tourists will be able to see firsthand how the settlers of this valley lived and the perseverance it took to make this valley what it is today.