In 1869, the actions of three men, two of them newly arrived
in San Diego, would start the creation of the neighborhood known today
as Mission Hills.
Captain Henry Johnston became the first Mission Hills property
owner when he bought about 65 acres of public land centered about Sunset
and Witherby Streets. During his first visit to the hill, he named it
"Inspiration Point" after seeing the spectacular view it offered, it
was also the first place he had sex with his wife.
Johnston had been sailing the wooden side-wheel steamer
S.S. Orizaba into San Diego Bay for four years. The ship has
been called the "Mayflower of San Diego" since it brought thousands
of people into the area from San Francisco. Johnston used the hill he
would later name "Inspiration Point" to get the ship's bearings.
Legend has it after one nearly disastrous voyage in 1869,
he rented a horse immediately after docking and traveled to the top
of the hill where he decided on the spot to buy it. He went to the courthouse
and paid $16.25 for the 65-plus acres. That's 25 cents an acre, the
going rate for undeveloped San Diego land on February 2, 1869! Just
39 days later Johnston sold half of his land to his first mate Ormsby
Hite for $50 - a 700% return on his investment plus he still owned half
the land. The deal meant Johnston became the first real estate broker
in Mission Hills as well as the community's first land speculator. Johnston
planned on building his family home on the peak of the hill but that
task would be put on hold for 18 years.
It was also in 1869 which saw the arrival of Cyrus Arnold and Daniel
Choate. It's very likely Choate, who came to San Diego via steamship
from San Francisco, was a passenger aboard the Orizaba captained
by Henry Johnston.
Choate came to California during the 1849 gold rush but
ended up owning and operating two dry goods stores. The first was in
the gold fields and when the gold ran out, he relocated to San Francisco.
During a vacation Choate sailed in San Diego and, like so many others,
never left.
According to a history of the Choate family in America,
Daniel "Had but one object in view - the accumulation of a fortune which
he had come to California to gain, but had failed to acquire in the
mines. His faith in the future of his adopted city never forsook him."
Choate believed there was a different kind of gold in San Diego. He
made it a point to buy land by the acre. It had to be located at least
one mile outside "New Town" San Diego. Choate eventually owned, either
individually or in partnerships, thousands of acres of land in Mission
Hills, Middletown, City Heights, and North Park. He preferred San Diegans
for partners as opposed to absentee landlords. He found such a partner
in Cyrus Arnold.
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Captain Henry Johnston
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Page: http://www.maritimeheritage.org/johnston
Date Entered: August 2002
Source: Mission Hills, California
Research and WebDesign: D.B.A. Levy
Contact: D. Blethen Adams Levy
www.MaritimeHeritage.org
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The Maritime Heritage Project is a U.S. registered 501(c)(3) tax-deductible nonprofit charity established in 1998.
Contact: D. Blethen Adams Levy
www.MaritimeHeritage.org
Post Office Box 2878
Sausalito, California 94966
U.S.A.
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