Lunch and Learn: The California Southern Railroad and the Great San Diego Land Boom of the 1880s
MAY 12, 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM
Join the San Diego History Center for a lunchtime presentation exploring the railroad that transformed San Diego.
After decades of trying to promote a railroad for San Diego, the planning, construction, and arrival of the Santa Fe system via the local California Southern Railway in 1885 triggered a phenomenal population expansion in San Diego County, changing it forever. The happenings during the short and crazy boom period and what became of the original railroad afterward should interest everyone in San Diego County today.
Bruce Semelsberger, archivist at the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum, will share newspaper accounts and rare photographs collected from personal collections and excursions during his forty years with the museum.
Ticket price includes lunch.
SDHC Member $35
Non-Member $45
About the Speaker
Since joining the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum in 1984, Bruce Semelsberger has served as Research Director, Librarian, and Archivist, and has lectured widely on regional rail history. He has also taught history at Cuyamaca College and participated in the restoration of historic trains, tracks, and facilities.
Bruce continues to collect materials for an upcoming book on San Diego’s early railroad era while documenting, preserving, and sharing the region’s railroad history for future generations.
