Editing Escondido, California (section)

===American era===
[[File:Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway depot - Escondido, California.jpg|thumb|right|[[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway]] depot in Escondido, {{circa|1887–1889}}|215x215px]]
The city was home to a largely Spanish-speaking population in the first census, taken in 1850 when California became a state. After statehood, non-Hispanic settlers came to Southern California in increasing numbers, many of them from the Midwestern states.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.californiahistoryteachers.com/blog/immigration-to-california-1850-1900 | title=Immigration to California: 1850-1900 }}</ref> The decade of the 1880s is known as the "Southern California Land Boom" because so many people moved to the state.

In 1853, pro-Southern [[Copperheads (politics)|Copperheads]] proposed dividing the state of California to create a new [[Territory of Colorado (California)|Territory of Colorado]] (at this time the territory that would become the state of [[Colorado]] was named "[[Jefferson Territory|Jefferson]]"). San Diego Judge Oliver S. Witherby suggested placing the capitol of the new territory in Rancho Rincon del Diablo. He envisioned a railroad connecting San Diego to [[Fort Yuma]] through an area about two miles (3&nbsp;km) south of the current Escondido site, heading east through San Pasqual. With a series of deeds in 1855 and 1856, the rancho was transferred from the heirs of Juan Bautista Alvarado to Witherby.<ref name="Rush"/> He planned to profit from the town that he believed would be established from the dividing point on the railroad below the eastern hills.<ref name="Stanford">{{cite journal| last=Stanford| first=Leland G.| year=1978| title=Devil's Corner and Oliver S. Witherby| journal=Journal of San Diego History| volume=24| issue=2| url=http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/78spring/corner.htm| access-date=August 5, 2010| archive-date=June 4, 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604224512/http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/78spring/corner.htm| url-status=live}}</ref> The proposal for splitting the state and creating the new territory passed in the California legislature, but died in Congress in the run-up to the [[American Civil War|Civil War]].<ref name="Rush"/> It was effectively killed in 1861 when Congress organized the [[Territory of Colorado]] in the area previously occupied by the [[Jefferson Territory]]. With Witherby's vision of owning a bustling state capitol unrealized, he set up a mining operation on the rancho instead.<ref name="Stanford"/>

In 1868, Witherby sold the rancho for $8,000 to Edward McGeary and John, Josiah, and Matthew Wolfskill. McGeary owned half the rancho, while the three Wolfskill brothers each owned an equal share of the other half. John Wolfskill farmed sheep, horses, and cattle on the rancho for a number of years. Wolfskill had frequent conflicts with the Couts family, owners of the neighboring [[Rancho Guajome|Guajome]], [[Rancho Buena Vista (Felipe)|Buena Vista]], and [[Rancho San Marcos|San Marcos]] ranchos, over grazing lands and watering holes.<ref name="Rush"/>

In October 1883, a group of Los Angeles investors purchased Rancho Rincon del Diablo. This group sold the land to the newly formed Escondido Company in 1884. On December 18, 1885, investors incorporated the Escondido Land and Town Company, and in 1886 this company purchased the {{convert|12814|acre|km2|0|adj=on}} area for approximately $100,000.<ref name="Rush"/> Two years later, in 1888, Escondido was incorporated as a city; the vote was 64 in favor of cityhood with 12 votes against. The [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway|Santa Fe]] rail line was laid in the 1880s. The opening of [[U.S. Route 395 (California)|U.S. Route 395]] in 1930 boosted economic growth in Escondido.
[[File:Mark Skovorodko Photography - San Pascual Valley Orchard Escondido.jpg|alt=An aerial view of a citrus orchard in the San Pasqual Valley in Escondido, California.|thumb|Aerial view of a citrus orchard in the San Pasqual Valley in Escondido]]
Escondido was primarily an agricultural community, growing muscat [[grapes]] initially. After a dam was built in 1894–1895 to form what is known today as Lake Wohlford, [[orange (fruit)|orange]] and [[lemons|lemon]] trees were planted in large numbers, as were [[olive]] and [[walnut]] trees. By the 1960s, [[avocado]]s became the largest local crop. Since the 1970s, Escondido has lost most of its agricultural land to housing developments, but still retains a significant agricultural presence in the San Pasqual Valley, including vineyards, citrus orchards, and avocado orchards.