Written by: Irene Kratzer
Mackinnon family headed west in 1875. Hector, Sarah and
their three children boarded a train from Cleveland, Ohio to San Francisco,
took a steamer to San Diego and lastly a horse and buggy to their destination
three-fourths of a mile from the San Elijo Lagoon mouth. At that point
in time Indians still occupied the upper lagoon.
Hector, a farmer with 500 valley and 100 mesa acres, was
not to be put off by naysayers and soon proved that farming was possible
so near the coast. He was able to raise barley and corn, plus have an orchard.
Sarah's cows and chickens produced milk, butter and eggs to help with the
expenses, and it is noted that her jellies were second to none. A room in the Mackinnon barn became a school and in l881
the first teacher, Mrs. Steven (Huffer) Wood, arrived to start her six-month
teaching contract. When snow fell "from the mountains to the sea" in the
great snowstorm of January 1882, students were moved into the kitchen of
the dwelling house since there was no heat in the barn.
In 1910, 35 years after Mackinnon's arrival, a Boston
painter named J. Frank Cullen relocated in San Diego. In 1911-12, setting
aside his brushes to become a developer, he visualized a coastal community
playground on the land Hector had settled. He subsequently purchased said
land, plotted the town site, prepared a map and began selling lots. Inside
lots sold for $30 each and corner lots were $45. History has it that Cullen chose a Spanish name for his
playground because of its proximity to Mexico but Mrs. Cullen, a native
of Cardiff, Wales, persuaded him to name it Cardiff and give the streets
English names. Today, only San Elijo Avenue and Orinda Drive remind us
of what might have been. Victor Kremer, a German musician developing the
composer district north of Birmingham, may have added the "by-the-Sea"
from the song "By The Beautiful Sea."
Water for Cullen's development was pumped through a 2-inch
main north from Cottonwood Creek storage tank on the hill overlooking Cardiff.
Cardiff Market owner Ira Connor reported the gasoline engine-operated pumping
system was extremely troublesome and said "We were always running out of
water..."
Cardiff's only industry, a kelp works, was built by Clarence
Cole in 1912. Seaweed was processed there for its food and industrial content.
The plant's foundation is still visible along the San Elijo Lagoon's muddy
north bluff.
Cardiff Elementary School District was formed in 1913,
the school being built on property Cullen donated. The San Diego County
Library system opened the first Cardiff Library in 1914 and the 1920s brought
a train station, post office and the formation of the San Dieguito Irrigation
District.
Trying to imagine what it must have been like here for
these pioneers, I'm certain both Mackinnon and Frank Cullen would be pleased
with the fruits of their labors. If Cullen could see his coastal playground
today, surely he would be proud of Cardiff-by-the-Sea with its beautiful
recreation areas: Glen Park, on property he so generously donated, Cardiff
Sports Park and soon to be renovated George Berkich Park. The San Elijo
State Beach Campground and Carpentier Parkway borders our businesses. Restaurant
Row provides a dining atmosphere with sunsets that are postcard perfect.
The Cardiff Towne Centre with yet another Cardiff Market,
a school system that rates among the highest in the nation, plus you can
go from kindergarten through junior college in Cardiff-by-the-Sea. The
Cardiff Library, which began in S.M. Holbrook's grocery store-Cullen's
playground hotel is over 80 years old.
Beautiful homes adorn the hill-sides; the Cardiff business
community does us proud. Cardiff, sometimes called laid back, works continuously
to preserve, protect and beautify the vision that Cullen had and the friendly
spirit of the people, like Mrs. Mackinnon's jellies, is second to none.
A well known destination point, Cardiff-by-the-Sea has a great number of
visitors each year, many of them from Cardiff, Wales. Over the years a
Twin Towne relationship has developed with our namesake, and we thank Mrs.
Cullen for such a beguiling name.
