The Journal of San Diego History
SAN DIEGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY QUARTERLY
Winter 1975, Volume 21, Number 1
James E. Moss, Editor

Original Articles

When the Imperial Valley Fought for its Life
By Robert L. Sperry
The Little Landers Colony of San Ysidro
By Lawrence B. Lee
Merchants and Dons: San Diego’s Attempt at Modernization, 1850-1860
By Mario T. Garcia

Book Reviews

California—Where the Twain Did Meet
By Anne Loftis. Reviewed by Richard H. Dillon.
Rock Art of Baja California
By Campbell Grant. Reviewed by Ken Hedges.
Mining Camps and Ghost Towns: A History of Mining in Arizona and California Along the Lower Colorado
By Frank Love. Reviewed by Duane A. Smith.
No Tears for the General. The Life of Alfred Sully, 1821-1879
By Langdon Sully. Reviewed by William Hanchett.
San Francisco, 1846-1856. From Hamlet to City
By Roger Lotchin. Reviewed by John Bernard McGloin
Sembradores. Ricardo Flores Magón y el Partido Liberal Mexicano: A Eulogy and a Critique
By Juan Gómez-Quiñones. Reviewed by Richard H. Tullis
California’s Railroad Era. 1850-1911
By Ward McAfee. Reviewed by Richard H Tullis
California’s Black Pioneers: A Brief Historical Survey
By Kenneth G. Goode. Reviewed by Lawrence B. de Graaf

Book Notes

On the Cover

Cover image   Back cover image

RANCHO BUENA VISTA By Richard Gabriel Chase

The first in a series of nine 20-foot wide by six-foot high murals depicting the Mexican-era history of North San Diego County was unveiled November 21, 1974, in the Vista office of Southwest Bank.

Painted by Richard Gabriel Chase of La Mesa, the mural shows a typical household scene such as might have been seen during the l850s at Rancho Buena Vista, the Mexican land grant ranch upon which present-day Vista is situated.

Sidney Fox, Bank president, states that “few of us take time to reflect upon the heritage those early Californians left us—the heritage of warmth, friendship, and appreciation for the wonderful area in which we live. It is our hope that through these murals we will be able to create an increased awareness of the heritage we all enjoy.”

Charles L. Bridges, Bank vice president, pointed out that the murals are unique in that they will be movable and will be rotated among the Southwest Bank offices in North San Diego County, and that reprints will be distributed to schools throughout the area, along with copies of rancho maps.

Chase, a noted Southern California artist, who is a native of Massachusetts began his art studies in Boston and graduated from the Massachusetts College of Art. He studied at the Worcester Art Museum School and privately with such eminent portraitists as Ernest L. Major and Victor Humann. He has taught life drawing and portraiture at San Bernardino Valley College. His murals may be seen throughout Southern California in financial institutions, business and professional offices, schools, hotels, and churches.

Courtesy: Southwest Bank and the Tolle Company