Carlsbad Time Lines
Q3 2026 Carlsbad, California, Historical Society
President’s letter
On June 6, 2026 the City of Carlsbad broke ground on the city’s newest and biggest park, Veterans Memorial Park. At 93.7 acres and named in honor of all US military veterans it will offer a panoramic view of the Agua Hedionda Lagoon and Pacific Ocean. In this historians opinion, it is aptly named sitting directly below Evans Point which was so named in honor of USN Admiral Robley Evans commandant of President Theodore Roosevelt’s 1907-08 Great White naval fleet that circumvented the world. At the highest elevation in old Carlsbad, at 353 feet, residents in the area flocked to this point to watch the flotillas white painted USN ships as they passed near enough to Carlsbad’s shore on their round the world tour. Those residents that gathered on this hill viewed the sailors standing on the decks, and also heard the naval bands play.
Google Earth view of the site for future Veterans Park
In this newsletter we will share a few other interesting historic park facts, a few links to historic videos released at the beginning of this summer, recently received donations and a Save the Date for upcoming fall activities.
Sue
Stagecoach and Calavera
(with excerpts from Windows on the Past)
In the late 1980s, Carlsbad constructed two parks, Stagecoach and Calavera, on sites that had documented historical backgrounds. Each shared the same overall park design that included large recreation centers, baseball fields, and tennis and basketball courts. However, the treatment of the historical sites was totally different. At Stagecoach Park, some conservation of the original historical structure remains, while at Calavera every aspect of its historical significance was removed.
Stagecoach Park occupies a small portion of the former Las Encinitas Rancho, a Mexican land grant given to Don Andres Ybarra in 1842. Las Encinitas, which translates into Little Live Oaks, passed through many hands. In 1860, subsequent owners Joseph S. Mannassee and Marcus Schiller converted Don Ybarra’s adobe home into a stagecoach stop. The remnants of this adobe structure can still be found on the grounds of Stagecoach Park beneath a roofed enclosure.
Calavera Park occupies the site of the former Calavera School. Calavera was one of Carlsbad's earliest schools, begun in 1897 when neighboring ranchers from the Marron and Kelly families relocated an abandoned building from near the present day intersection of Interstate 5 and Cannon Road, and dragged by horse to the location of present day Calavera Park. It was to become a short lived school for the ranch children. Teacher salaries and accommodations were provided by the ranch families. Calavera itself was a rock quarry held in common by the descendants of the Matthew Kelly Family. It later became the site of ”Lake Calavera” a reservoir created by damming a small creek. At the time of park construction in 1987, the land still retained some of the original school features. A cistern used for water collection and a grove of trees planted by the first group of students in 1897 was still on the property. None of the existing features were retained, protected or included into the new park design.
Remnants of Las Encinitas Rancho/ Stage Coach adobe
Calaveras Damsite 1941
Calaveras schoolhouse
Board Member Emeritus
Decades after joining and serving on our board Ginny (Krepps) Unanue is stepping down from her board position. Ginny greeted all with a warm smile and welcoming attitude, while filling a variety of board positions, President, Vice President, Secretary and Member at Large all the while volunteering to host Victorian Teas, participate in our third grade school tours and edit our newsletter. While not on tap for as much activity, Ginny has offered her continued support and participation. Danté Farenga, one of newest members, has volunteered to fill Ginny’s spot as secretary. Danté is the Development & Marketing Director for the San Diego Archaeology Center, and we look forward to her involvement with Carlsbad Historical.
Save the Date Guest Talk
Oceanside local John Thill, and author of “A California Love Story,” will speak in the Cole Library Community Room Saturday, Oct 3rd at 10:00am .
“About the Book:
At its heart, this book is a collection of my grandparents’ love letters from the 1920s, when they were just two young people from the dusty, landlocked center of the country. They were dreaming of a life together in the still-small community of Oceanside, planted along the mostly raw and undeveloped coastline of California. I came to be the keeper of these letters, and their storyteller, decades later, after they’d passed.”
An excerpt from his book can be found at https://johnwthill.com/about
Leopard Family Donation
The Leopard family generously donated many letters, magazines, musical sheet music and other items that were in their possession , previously owned by Florence Shipley Magee and left in her Condor’s Nest home that they inherited. We are in the process of inventorying and scanning the letters, as well as creating a searchable record. Donations such as these help add to our understanding of Florence, her family, and their place in Carlsbad history. We are very grateful for their trust in our organization to leave these items in our care.
Florence Shipley graduation from Our Lady of Peace Academy
Quilt that Florence created
The above donated newspaper clipping from the North County Times Advocate, 1986, reports on the restoration of the house where Florence Shipley Magee and Huge Magee lived until his death.
Historic Videos
Army Navy Academy TV, created a special Carlsbad-themed episode highlighting leadership, history, service, and student achievement throughout our community. You can find it at the following link:
Visit Carlsbad, in collaboration with Carlsbad Magazine created a six part series detailing Carlsbad’s more recent history. Our Vice President, Wendy Hinman, and historical writer extraordinaire for the Carlsbad Magazine, created the series and conducted the interviews. We look forward to more of Wendy’s historic documentation.
Downtown Carlsbad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq3p9Nn8WiM&t=15s
Oldest neighborhood
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X19VRFSshy4&t=19s
Skate boarding
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMsHCQ4V0p0
Surfing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OU8zgK6hAeQ&t=15s
Agricultural History
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfbFJaUUDE4&t=214s
Omni La Costa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SL31exKBRdo
Interesting connections to Karlovy Vary
In the book The Elements of Marie Curie by Dava Sobel she mentions that the first uranium ores (pitchblend) that Marie and her husband Pierre obtained came from the mines of Jachymov, near Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad). The Curies isolated the elements radium and polonium from these ores in 1898.
Marie’s maiden name was Maria Salomea Skłodowska. She was a Polish physicist and chemist who became naturalized French after marrying Pierre Curie. They won the Nobel Prize in Physics for their work on radioactivity in 1904. Later, as a widow, she won a second Nobel Prize in 1911, but this time in Chemistry. She is the only person to ever win two Nobel Prizes in different fields (other than the Peace Prize).
Another interesting connection to Karlovy Vary is the name of the US currency, the dollar. The name comes from “thaler” or ”taler”, a name given to a popular silver coin minted for centuries, starting in 1518. The silver for the thalers also came from the mines in Jáchymov, Bohemia (then part of the Holy Roman Empire), near the town of Karlovy Vary. The name thaler was used for over 400 years, was later adopted in the United Kingdom as “dollar”, and later adopted by the United States of America.
Maria Theresa taler from 1776, named after Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.
Carlsbad Historical Society
258 Beech Ave. Carlsbad CA 92008
(442) 500-4471
www.carlsbadhistoricalsociety.com
*Open Saturday and Sunday, 11 am to 3 pm
*Private Tours by appointment
*School, Scouts and Families welcome
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