A short 18-mile drive from the Pacific Ocean, the greater Fallbrook area is well known for its gently rolling hills, lush groves, ancient oak trees, equestrian and walking trails, riparian areas, nature preserves, and Mediterranean climate.
De Luz, Origin of Name
Contributed by the Fallbrook Historical Society
Don Rivers, President
Upon consulting a Spanish-English dictionary to learn the translation of "de luz"
we found the English translation to be "of light." The question is "How did the
community, surrounding area, local or canyon northwest of Fallbrook become known
as De Luz?"
Some old timers have maintained that the name De Luz came from an Englishman by
the name of Luce who had a corral and maintained a string of horses at the Hotel
and Hot Springs in De Luz, established in 1881. There are several difficulties
or contradictions with this claim. One may question how did the name change from
Luce (English) to Luz (Spanish).
A quote from Floyd Markham:
In general original place names are bestowed by early visitors or residents of a
locality. However, the common factor to all of the "Luz" named places in the
various countries is the Roman Catholic Church and its missionaries. It is not
unusual for the men of the church to name an area for the saint's day on which
they reached that particular location. Our area is covered with the names of
Catholic Saints. One of the synonyms for the Mother of Jesus is represented by
the Immaculate Conception was LaMadrass De La Luz as seen in a large painting in
the Mortuary Chapel in the Mission San Luis Rey.
A.J. Foss, an early settler in the area in 1915 made the following statement:
The first I knew of De Luz was at least as far back as 1877. There was a small
adobe house, probably 12 feet square on the point of the hill in the old Stewart
vineyard, across the creek. There was nobody occupying the house.
Don Juan Forster used to put a few cattle in there in the early days along about
1880, 1881 and 1882 and maybe before. Afterwards, Copeland and Neff had a band
of sheep there and they camped at the old adobe. Soon after, A.D. Spring located
there. Then came Stewart, then Wilmots, V. Riboni and a fellow by the name of
Root.
In the early days the place was known as Corral de Jose de Luz. Forester's
vaqueros told me there was a Spaniard or Californian by the name of Jose de Luz
who kept stock in there at one time, and had built a corral there. I remember
there was a few stubs of post of a corral near the adobe.
Markham stated:
The earliest documentation of the name of De Luz locally that I have found is on
a map of Rancho Santa Margarita dated 1878, which designates the stream, Arroyo
Corral de la Luz. This map hung on the west wall of the reading room of the
Oceanside Public Library for many years. However I am not sure if it still hangs
there for I haven't been in the library in a long time.
The California Southern Railroad was opened for operation from National City to
Fallbrook on January 2, 1882. At the time of construction of the railroad, De
Luz Station was built and the mouth of Arroyo Corral de la Luz on San Margarita
River. This location was well within the boundaries of Rancho Santa Margarita
(today's Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton) a mile or so north of the Naval
Hospital. It was common practice to name railroad stations after site locations
and/or railroad officials. Therefore one is lead to believe that the name of De
Luz had been established prior to 1882.
It would not be unreasonable to assume that the railroad survey crew obtained a
copy of the 1877 Rancho Santa Margarita map or had a drawing made of it and
utilized the names on the map. However it is understandable that the American
settlers would corrupt the Spanish terminology and simply call it De Luz, creek,
canyon etc. or plain De Luz.
Early San Diego County records, U. S. Land Commission, homestead records and
maps make reference to the area as Corral De Luz. The early Post Office records
show that it was 'De Luz Post Office' and opened November 1, 1882 in the De Luz
Railroad Station and that, Henry J. Camp was the first Postmaster.
The Postmaster General in Washington D.C., not being familiar with local Spanish
names, most likely accepted the name of the railroad station in as much as the
said Post Office was in the railroad station. You can be sure that the Americans
of the Southern California Railroad Company were desirous of Americanizing and
shortening names.
When the railroad washed out in 1916 and the mail was no longer delivered by the
railroad, the Post Office was moved up the canyon within closer proximity to the
community that it served. The mail was delivered three times a week by horse and
buggy from the West Fallbrook Post Office..
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