San Marcos
The resort climate, rural setting, central location and affordable housing prices make San Marcos is an attractive place to live and do business. San Marcos, with a population of 63,528 blends small town informality with positive forward-looking development and growth. The 23 square miles of San Marcos is located in the southwestern corner of California, in an ideal location in the heart of North San Diego County. Nestled between the state's two largest cities, Los Angeles, 90 miles to the north and San Diego, 30 miles to the south, along with ideal access to two main Interstate freeways, the I-15 and the I-5, San Marcos is strategically placed for all types of businesses and trades.
Bordered about 10 miles to the west by the sandy beaches of the Pacific and to the east by the Laguna Mountains and Anza-Borrego Desert, San Marcos offers beautiful weather on a daily basis. With an average rainfall of 12 inches and average temperatures ranging from 47 to 85 degrees and cool ocean breezes, San Marcos offers a dynamic environment in the midst of fruit and nut orchards, flower fields, horse ranches and animal farmlands.
San Marcos residents and visitors can take advantage of water sports: swimming, surfing, boogie-boarding, water-skiing and boating just minutes away to the west at the many beautiful public beaches. Skiing, snowboarding and snow play can be found only two hours north in the nearby San Bernardino Mountains. Jacks Pond and Wildlife Discovery Center is a popular learning and hiking habitat, offering regularly scheduled hikes providing biological and geological overviews of the area and waterways. The San Marcos Community Center attracts both children and adults alike with a multitude of aquatics, recreation, dance and theatre classes, and sports leagues. The greater San Marcos area offers hikers, campers and biking enthusiasts developed trails throughout the area. Many of these trails are in the city limits. State, county, and private campgrounds are nearby at the ocean, Palomar Mountain, and the desert.
San Marcos is a growing center of popular recreation in the North County. San Marcos includes three 18-hole golf courses within the city limits; the public Lake San Marcos Executive and Twin Oaks Valley Golf courses, and the private Lake San Marcos Country Club. Within San Diego County the avid golfer can find over 22 golf courses within 30 miles of San Marcos. The new Edwards 18 Stadium Cinema, and newly developed food court offer residents the latest in new release movies and dining fare. Throughout San Marcos one can find exceptional dining including seafood, Italian, Mexican cantinas, and traditional British pubs. Eagle Lanes Bowling alley, across from the famous Old California Restaurant Row known for its wide variety of dining experiences and tastes, and nearby roller rinks make San Marcos a desired entertainment center.
San Marcos offers an abundant array of cultural and recreational opportunities including community theatre, music, and fine arts organizations bringing in many renowned artists to the city. The Performing Arts Center at Palomar College and the CSUSM Library showcase not only student works, but professional works as well. The San Marcos Historical Society and Museum constantly endeavors to bring living history to the area and into the local classrooms. In nearby Escondido, the California Center for the Arts and the San Diego Wild Animal Park offer a full spectrum of year round entertainment and learning adventure.
Lake San Marcos is an exquisite residential/resort community surrounding a quiet, secluded lake, just off Rancho Santa Fe Road. The lakefront Quails Inn Hotel at Lake San Marcos Resort, the only lakeside resort in San Diego County, offers its guests lakeside rooms with private patios, tennis, paddle and party boats, swimming pools and spa and fitness center. Dining features of the inn include Gordon's on the Green, an indoor grill, dining room, and patio, and the Quails Inn Dinner house offering live entertainment and dancing in the lounge. More than 15,000 square feet of meeting space is available in the hotel's conference center.
San Marcos offers something for everyone including one of its secrets, the grouping of three antique shops at 983 Grand Ave. The newly opened Village Shops located adjacent to Old California Restaurant Row features several small specialty stores in an old-town setting complete with relaxing fountains and melodious chimes. A home furnishing area along Vallecitos Boulevard, known collectively as Furniture Row, offers residents of San Marcos and the county a centralized location for home and office furnishing needs.
San Marcos is considered the center of education in North San Diego County. Located within San Marcos is 51-year-old Palomar Community College, the largest in San Diego County. San Marcos also boasts the ever-growing California State University, San Marcos, one of the newest universities in the system. The K thru' 12 San Marcos Unified School District is an award-winning district with over seven Schools of Distinction Awards to their credit.
Westerners first discovered the area now known as San Marcos in the late 1700's. Historical documents show that a small band of Indians routinely raided the flocks of the San Luis Rey Mission, prompting a call for assistance from Spanish troops. Fleeing from the Spanish soldiers, the Indians disappeared into the eastern hills. While pursuing them, the Spaniards discovered a lovely, fertile valley they named Los Vallecitos de San Marcos (Little Valleys of St. Mark) on April 25, 1797.
In early 1875, as Maj. Merriam's settlement thrived, German and Dutch immigrants began moving into the area. In 1883, John H. Barham founded the first town a few miles to the south, calling it Barham. Within one year, his town had a post office, a blacksmith, a feed store and a weekly newspaper, called Our Paper. The first school opened in Barham in 1880 and was moved to San Marcos in 1889.
In 1887, the San Marcos Land Company bought almost the entire former Los Vallecitos de San Marcos land grant. The company divided the land into tracts, sold them, and soon the beautiful hills began attracting settlers. By 1903, many people of San Marcos had built up businesses near the railroad tracks at what is now the junction of Mission Road and Pico Avenue. By 1905, the town had rural mail delivery and telephone service. The general store and the post office were the most popular buildings for casual gatherings on market day. Farming became the main commerce in San Marcos in the late 1800?s and first half of the 1900's. Dairy and poultry production also became a big part of the economy. In 1950, the Barn, the first true community center for San Marcos, was built at Mission and San Marcos Boulevard. Today the structure resides at Walnut Grove Park, still being used as a gathering place for people of all ages.
The city began to grow more rapidly in 1956, when the first water from the Colorado River arrived to supply the city. The population quickly increased to 2,500 and small businesses opened all over town. In 1960, the construction of Hwy 78 began and San Marcos High School was built. During the 1990's, San Marcos doubled in population to today's figure of more than 63,000.
For more information on San Marcos please visit the San Marcos Chamber of Commerce or visit www.san-marcos.org or www.ci.san-marcos.ca.us