Editing Solana Beach, California (section)

== History ==
The area was first settled by the [[San Dieguito complex|San Dieguitos]], early [[Holocene]] inhabitants of the area. The area was later inhabited by the [[Kumeyaay]], who set up a village they called ''Kulaumai'', on the southern banks of [[San Elijo Lagoon]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sociopolitical Aspects of the 1775 Revolt at Mission San Diego de Alcala|url=https://sandiegohistory.org/journal/1997/july/missionrevoltimages/|access-date=August 29, 2020|website=San Diego History Center {{!}} San Diego, CA {{!}} Our City, Our Story|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Chapter 1 : Maps, Chicano History|url=https://chicanohistory.sdsu.edu/maps/c01map.html|access-date=August 30, 2020|website=chicanohistory.sdsu.edu}}</ref> During the [[Spanish Empire|Spanish colonial]] era, trails heading north near Solana Beach crossed inland to avoid the marshes and inlets of the area.

The George H. Jones family were the first European settlers in the area, arriving in 1886. Until 1923, the area had been called Lockwood Mesa. When [[Lake Hodges Dam]] was built in 1917–1918, the area began to develop rapidly. The creation of the {{convert|12000|acre|km2|adj=on}} Santa Fe Irrigation District in 1918 ensured that the area from [[Rancho Santa Fe]] through Solana Beach would prosper and expand. The coastline from Solana Beach to Oceanside began to boom in the early 1920s.  In 1922 Colonel Ed Fletcher, an early community leader and developer, purchased {{convert|140|acre|km2}} at $20 per acre from farmer George H. Jones to develop the town of Solana Beach, with the help of his brother-in-law Eugene Batchelder. To provide access to the beach for the development, hydraulic water pressure was used to erode away tons of earth and create the Fletcher Cove entry and beach.  This took one man three months with a fire hose, using water that was coming over the spillway at Lake Hodges Dam.  The beach was opened with great fanfare including horse races on the beach on July 4, 1925.<ref>{{cite web |title=The History of Solana Beach |url=http://www.ci.solana-beach.ca.us/ContentPage.asp?ContentID=89 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060826045615/http://www.ci.solana-beach.ca.us/ContentPage.asp?ContentID=89 <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date=August 26, 2006 |access-date=June 16, 2008 |publisher=City of Solana Beach |agency=Solana Beach Civic & Historical Society}}</ref>

The community grew slowly, but steadily throughout the rest of the century, with particular booms occurring in the decade after [[World War II]] and a real estate boom in the last quarter of the 20th century. In 1986 the community incorporated as the city of Solana Beach.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Solana Beach History {{!}} Solana Beach |url=https://www.cityofsolanabeach.org/en/community/about-solana-beach/solana-beach-history |access-date=2024-06-02 |website=www.cityofsolanabeach.org}}</ref> That year, the city hosted the funeral services for [[Desi Arnaz]], who had died in Del Mar. Arnaz's funeral was held at St. James Roman Catholic Church, part of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego|Diocese of San Diego]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Parishes |url=https://sdcatholic.org/v-encuentro/parishes/ |access-date=December 5, 2023 |website=The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=By |date=December 4, 1986 |title=FUNERAL FOR ARNAZ IN CALIFORNIA TODAY |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1986/12/04/funeral-for-arnaz-in-california-today/ |access-date=December 5, 2023 |website=Orlando Sentinel |language=en-US}}</ref>

The city received national news coverage in 2003 upon becoming the first city in the [[continental United States]] to enact a [[smoking ban]] on its public beaches, a trend which has continued as many other [[coastal California]] towns have followed suit in banning smoking on their beaches. Solana Beach was the last coastal community in [[North County, San Diego|North San Diego County]] to ban alcohol on the beach, doing so for at least a year in an action unanimously approved by the City Council.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}

On April 25, 2008, retired veterinarian and 38-year resident Dr. David Martin, 66 years old, suffered a fatal injury from an extremely rare [[great white shark]] bite while swimming with a group approximately {{convert|150|yd|m}} off shore near Solana Beach's Fletcher Cove.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dolmetsch|first=Chris|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ayt92W__sM9c|publisher=[[Bloomberg News]]|title=Great White Shark Attack Kills Triathlete off California Coast |date=April 25, 2008|access-date = June 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150820122014/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ayt92W__sM9c|url-status=live|archive-date=August 20, 2015}}</ref> The group of swimmers reportedly began their swim at Tide Beach Park to the north. Surfers in the area of Fletcher Cover noted harbor seals in the water and a wounded seal on the beach at Fletcher Cove just before the attack, the latter being a typical sign of sharks feeding in the area. Recent increases in the seal population along the Southern California coast &mdash; and the seals' tendency to swim in close proximity to human swimmers &mdash; are suspected to be contributing factors in the attack.<ref>{{cite news|last=Nott|first=Laura |author2=H.G. Reza |author3=Molly Hennessy-Fiske|date=April 26, 2008|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-apr-26-me-shark26-story.html|title=A strike from beneath, and a triathlete is gone|access-date =June 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081003110628/http://articles.latimes.com/2008/apr/26/local/me-shark26|url-status=live|archive-date=October 3, 2008}}</ref>

=== Eden Gardens ===

The neighborhood of [[La Colonia de Eden Gardens]], also known as La Colonia and Eden Gardens, is one of the oldest residential areas of Solana Beach. The community was formed in the 1920s by Mexican farmers who were hired by the owners of large ranches in adjacent [[Rancho Santa Fe, California|Rancho Santa Fe]]. These farmers wanted their families nearby, hence the formation of ''La Colonia'' (the colony). The name Eden Gardens came later from a land developer as a marketing tool. Many residents still refer to the area as La Colonia. Famous residents include Chicano rapper [[Lil Rob]], who was born and raised in the community.