Open Menu STAFF LINKS Search HOME > OUR DISTRICT > HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF EUSD Advisory Committees Awards and Recognition California Healthy Kids Survey EUSD - Our Story Green Initiatives Health & Wellness Historical Perspective of EUSD Proposition P School Accountability Uniform Complaint Procedures & Williams Case HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF EUSD Historical Perspective of the Encinitas Union School District Back in the days of early Encinitas, settlers moved in and started raising families. When the children needed a school, everyone in the community stepped in to build a school for the children. This spirit is very much alive even today! Encinitas has not forgotten its very first school. Our first one room school house is now 113 years old and has been authentically restored. It was built in 1883 and was operated by the Encinitas Union School District, which had formed one year earlier. The land for the school was donated by John Pitcher and the school was built by Mr. E. G. Hammond. Fifteen children, more or less, were taught together in this one-room schoolhouse with all ages taught by one teacher. After much fundraising and lots of hard work, the old schoolhouse now serves as a historical center for Encinitas school children and residents. To learn more about the history of Encinitas, visit the City of Encinitas website. Encinitas Historical Timeline 1000 BC Native Americans, Kumeyaay; Diegueño; Luiseño; La Jollan, inhabit the area. 1669 Spanish explorer De Portola arrived in the area. 1786 Missionaries arrived. 1820 Zenith of Missions 1842 Andres Ybarra awarded Mexican land grant, Rancho Los Encinitos (later misspelled as Las Encinitas). Los Encinitos translate to "little oaks". 1846 United States declares war on Mexico. 1850 California becomes the 31st state on September 9, 1850. 1875 Nathan Eaton settles near Batiquitos Lagoon. Hector MacKinnon homesteads near San Elijo in Cardiff 1881 Encinitas is born! California Southern Railroad directs Thomas Rattan to lay out the town of Encinitas. Surveyor Sanford is hired. James Elliot, railroad foreman, plants Encinitas' eucalyptus trees. John Pitcher and Thomas Rattan are Encinitas founders. 1882 Railroad comes through Encinitas for first time on August 14th. Encinitas population: 11 1883 E.G. Hammond family arrives in Encinitas and doubles town's population to 22. Encinitas schoolhouse is built (near today's Pacific View School). 1884 Flood! Thirty miles of railroad tracks are wiped out. Olivenhain is born! German immigrants arrive from Colorado. 1886 Olivenhain School opens in vacant house of Theodore Pinther. 1887 Encinitas train station is built. 1888 Olivenhain builds new one-room schoolhouse, to remain open for the next 54 years. Encinitas experiences building boom. Town of Merle (Leucadia) is created. 1895 Olivenhain Meeting Hall is constructed. 1911 Frank Cullen plans town of Cardiff. 1913 Highway 101, a two-lane road, is paved. 1915 Electricity lights up Encinitas. 1922 Lake Hodges Dam is completed - Encinitas gets water. 1925 Coast Dispatch Newspaper is founded. 1927 Central School (renamed Paul Ecke Central School in 1986) opens. 1928 La Paloma Theater opens. Beginning of Paul Ecke Poinsettia Ranch. 1929 Encinitas Boat Houses are built (3rd Street). 1936 Self-Realization Fellowship is built. 1937 Del Mar Fair Opens. Highway 101 is widened because of traffic from the Del Mar Race Track. San Dieguito High School (renamed San Dieguito Academy in 1996) opens. 1946 Electricity comes to Olivenhain. 1953 Pacific View Elementary School, originally named Encinitas Elementary School, opens. 1959 Ocean Knoll Elementary School welcomes children. 1960 Ada Harris Elementary School in Cardiff-by-the-Sea is built. 1961 Olivenhain Municipal Water District - water is finally available to the valley! 1966 Interstate 5 Freeway opens (Sorrento Valley north past Oceanside). 1969 Capri Elementary School opens in Leucadia. 1975 Park Dale Lane School opens in the Village Park area of Encinitas. 1979 Flora Vista Elementary School opens. 1986 Communities of Cardiff, Leucadia, Olivenhain and Encinitas become incorporated as Encinitas. 1987 La Costa Heights Elementary School opens in the Rancho La Costa area of south Carlsbad. 1990 Mission Estancia Elementary School opens in south Carlsbad. 1991 Encinitas Union School District offices move to 101 South Rancho Santa Fe Road after 22 years beside Paul Ecke Central School. 1994 Olivenhain Pioneer Elementary School opens in south Carlsbad. 1996 La Costa Canyon High School opens. 1998 Encinitas population reaches 58,915. 2000 El Camino Creek Elementary School opens in south Carlsbad. 2006 City of Encinitas celebrates 20th anniversary of incorporation. 2013 EUSD breaks ground on its Farm Lab. Summer 2013 Modernization of Park Dale Lane Campus. Installation of four (4) modular buildings and Media Center at Mission Estancia. Summer 2014 Modernization of Olivenhain Pioneer and Mission Estancia Campuses. Summer 2015 Modernization of Capri and Paul Ecke Central Campuses. Installation of Hydration Stations/Filtered Water on all nine school campuses. Summer 2016 Solar Arrays installed at remaining sites. All nine EUSD elementary schools have Solar Arrays. Modernization of Ocean Knoll campus and installation of 8 modular buildings. Summer 2017 Planned Modernization at El Camino Creek, Flora Vista, and La Costa Heights Campuses. 2018 Classroom of the Future Award and District Administration’s Districts of Distinction Award 2019 Accolades and awards for Civics Learning and Film Guild. 2020 Recognition that learning in 2020 and beyond must be forward thinking as we are preparing students for a more technologically advanced and globally connected world. PRIVACY POLICY SITE MAP ACCESSIBILITY 101 S. RANCHO SANTA FE ROADENCINITASCA92024-4349760-944-4300 Twitter (opens in new window/tab) Facebook (opens in new window/tab) Instagram (opens in new window/tab) Powered by Finalsite