Poway

Poway: The City in the Country

According to the City of Poway website, the name of the beautiful valley of Poway (Pauwai) is derived from the language of the Diegueno and Luiseno Indians who roamed the area for several hundred years before the Spaniards came. Traces of these Native Americans still remain.

Documents of Mission San Diego de Alcala record the name of the valley as "Paguay" as early as 1828. Although there is a disagreement on the meaning of "Paguay," the generally accepted translation signifies "the meeting of little valleys" or "end of the valley."

Philip Crosthwaite is believed to have been the first white settler in the Poway area. He was known to be an utterly fearless man, whose courage and character was proved in many hard encounters in the early days of San Diego. After serving in the Mexican-American War, Crosthwaite served as San Diego’s first county treasurer, deputy sheriff and sheriff for several years. He was also school commissioner in 1850, county clerk and recorder in 1853-4, and justice of the peace in 1854. He built an adobe house in Poway and took up ranching in 1859.

A sufficient number of settlers had come into the valley by 1869 to warrant a post office. Castanos Paine, whose ranch was a way stop for stages from the north and from San Diego, applied to Washington for an appointment as postmaster in 1870. The appointment was granted, but the Postmaster General crossed out the words "Paine's Ranch" and substituted "Poway," thus settling once and for all the spelling of the name.

The 1880s saw a prosperous and well-populated valley. Families were settling on farms, planting orchards and vineyards, and raising grain. Dairying was profitable, as was beekeeping. By 1887, there were about 800 people in the Poway area.

By the early 1900s, the hardiest of the settlers had managed to cope with drought and transportation problems. They had firmly established themselves in their chosen valley and had found a good and satisfying life. Poway became known for its exceptionally fine peaches and for its vineyards.

The growth of the town did not really get underway until the late 1950s, when Poway Valley Homes opened the first subdivision. In 1971, a dam was constructed, creating Lake Poway, to provide residents with a more permanent source of water. In December 1980, Poway incorporated as a city in San Diego County.

Our walk takes you through picturesque Old Poway with its quaint buildings and shops, through the Park and Railroad Museum, and back again.