Our Heritage

Our Heritage

The community of Carlsbad is named for the popular 19th century Karlsbad Spa in Europe, but its history reflects the heritage of many cultures.

Luiseno Indians camped on the shores of the coastal lagoons for centuries. A four-inch volcanic rock skillfully chipped into the shape of a bear was recently found near one of the lagoons. Carbon dated at more than 8,000 years, the amulet has been designated as the official state prehistoric artifact.

The first mention of Carlsbad in the annals of history was hardly flattering. In 1769, a contingent of Spanish explorers, led by Don Gaspar de Portola, was plodding its way into Alta California to claim the territory for the King of Spain.

Included in the expedition was missionary Fray Juan Crespi, who recorded a brief stop at a lagoon. Resting downwind from a garbage pile of an Indian Village, the troops christened the lagoon for posterity: Agua Hedionda (Stinking Water.)

Our Heritage

The community of Carlsbad is named for the popular 19th century Karlsbad Spa in Europe, but its history reflects the heritage of many cultures.

Following in their footsteps were more soldiers and priests, to establish pueblos and missions to ensure Spain's hold on its remote territory.

To convert the friendly local Indians to Christianity, the Franciscan missionaries, in 1798, established Mission San Luis Rey several miles north of the lagoon. The mission known as "The King of Missions" became the largest of 21 missions in California extending over 20 square miles with herds of cattle, extensive crops and administering the lives of 2,000 Indian residents.

In 1833 the rich mission holdings were secularized and divided into large land grants of several thousand acres each. Initially claimed by influential Californios, the large ranches, over the next half century were subdivided and sold off.

With the coming of the railroad in 1883, the land between Los Angeles and San Diego was opened up to homesteaders.

The Carlsbad depot was built in 1887 by the Arizona Eastern Railway. The Depot also served as a telegraph office, Post Office, Wells Fargo Express Office and general store. Purchased by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad in 1905, the depot was shipping point for locally grown fruit, vegetables and flowers.

Closed in 1960, the building was deeded to the city. It now serves as the Tourist Information Center to provide information and assistance to the many tourists who visit Carlsbad. The depot is on the National Register of Historic Places and shares it's historical significance with Rancho de Los Kiotes (Carrillo Ranch), which is the city's noted California Registered Historical Landmark.

So how did this community come to be named Carlsbad? The name is borrowed from a well-known spa in Bohemia (now Czech Republic.)

The name was adopted for this California community in the 1880s when retired sea captain, John Frazier, struck mineral water while drilling a well on his homestead. Laboratory tests revealed the water to have the same mineral properties as the water in Karlsbad, Bohemia, hence the name.

The cool sips of water that he graciously offered to thirsty train passengers became famous for their apparent healing powers.

After three years of ownership, Frazier sold his well to German immigrant, Gerhard Schutte, who established the California Land and Mineral Water Company.

A new 100-room hotel was built and the fledgling town was touted as "the greatest seaside sanatorium on the Pacific coast--blessed with mineral wells which effect astonishing cures in remarkably brief periods."

Schutte's spacious mansion, built in 1887, later became known as one of Carlsbad's Twin Inns. It is now the renowned Neimans restaurant.

With the introduction of irrigation water in 1914, dry farming blossomed into the cultivation of flowers, vegetables and fruit orchards.

With the Great Depression of the 30's, newly constructed Carlsbad Mineral Springs Hotel went bankrupt and the famous mineral well was capped. The site of the original well is at the Alt Karlsbad Hanse House on Carlsbad Boulevard.

Other economic opportunities enabled the community to grow and prosper without the mineral water enterprise.

The city has grown from a population of 300 at the turn of the century to over 73,000 today. Even with this growth, many of the valleys and hillsides remain undeveloped and have changed little from the time of the Luiseno Indian encampments. The friendly small-town atmosphere envisioned by Schutte remains a feature of Carlsbad's historic downtown.