A bit more Poway pioneer history

So if you tuned in yesterday, you know we're out reliving some of the history of Poway.

(Go back and read that if you haven't yet.  You need to know about the bank robbers before you read this - go on,  I'll wait here)



Well, on our way back from our hike to the old stone cabin, we came upon a little old pioneer cemetery....close to civilization, yet oh so far away....




According to the book "Cemeteries of San Diego County" those buried here were pioneers who came from Kentucky in 1884 and built a house they named Longview.

(Remember that from yesterday?)

The cemetery is named for Rev. Michal Smith, who owned this part of the land and is buried here. The last burial was that of his sister, Nora Scroggs, who died "at the end of the 1800s."





Don't you LOVE learning new things?  And I'm glad that someone fenced this in and placed that headstone.  I'm all about preserving our history.

And lastly, a wild cucumber that graces the fence...sort of nature's tribute:



Documents of Mission San Diego de Alcala record the name of the Poway 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 built an adobe house 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 application stated that there were no post offices located between San Diego and San Bernardino at that time. 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 1880's 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.