San Luis Rey (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

for " St. Louis the King") is a neighborhood in

Oceanside, California Oceanside is a beach city in the North County (San Diego area), North County area of San Diego County, California, United States. The city had a population of 174,068 at the 2020 United States census, making it the most populous city in the Nort ...

. San Luis Rey is along the

San Luis Rey River The San Luis Rey River is a river in northern San Diego County, California. The river's headwaters are in the Palomar Mountain Range and Cleveland National Forest, near Palomar Mountain and the Santa Rosa Mountains. The river mouth, on the Pac ...

, northeast of downtown Oceanside. San Luis Rey has a post office with ZIP Code 92068, which opened in 1861.

History

Quechla / Qée'ish

The area that is now known as San Luis Rey was originally home to the

Luiseño The Luiseño or Payómkawichum are an Indigenous people of California who, at the time of the first contacts with the Spanish in the 16th century, inhabited the coastal area of southern California, ranging from the present-day southern part of ...

. The Luiseño had a village of 5,000 people which was called Quechla or Qée'ish depending on dialect.

San Luis Rey

The community was named for

Mission San Luis Rey de Francia Mission San Luis Rey de Francia () is a former Spanish mission in San Luis Rey, a neighborhood in Oceanside, California. This Mission lent its name to the Luiseño tribe of Mission Indians. At its prime, Mission San Luis Rey's structures an ...

, established in 1798, which is located near the geographic center of the neighborhood. The population of Quechla dropped down to 3,000 people soon after the establishment of the Mission due to diseases brought by the Spanish. This Mission at one point covered 950,000 acres and was tended by the Luiseño Indians, who were forcibly moved onto the Mission to work under the Spanish. Due to the extensive and long-lived influence of the Spanish and later the Mexican government, local architecture has taken on a noticeable Spanish and Mexican feel.

Neighborhood of Oceanside

The neighborhood also includes the Heritage Park Village and museum, which was the center of town for the city of Oceanside for a time. The

Lilac Fire The Lilac Fire was a fire that burned in northern San Diego County, California, United States, and the second-costliest one of multiple wildfires that erupted in Southern California in December 2017. The fire was first reported on December 7 ...

broke out on December 7, 2017, severely damaging the 240-acre San Luis Rey Downs horse-training facility and killing 46 horses.

Native American culture

The original residents of the valley now called San Luis Rey were Luiseño Indians, also known as the San Luis Rey Band of the Luiseño Indians. Although in other parts of the United States Native Americans were allowed to live autonomously on reservations, such an arrangement was denied to the Luiseño Indians because the settlers wanted to keep the land for farming and ranching. Native Americans were granted US citizenship in 1924. Since 1996 the band hosts an annual inter-tribal powwow on the San Luis Rey Mission grounds, which is open to the public and presents Native American arts, crafts, food and dancing. On November 28, in honor of National Native American Heritage Month, the San Luis Rey city Council acknowledged the Mission Indians at its council meeting.

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, San Luis Rey has a

warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps.

Demographics

This community has a notably high percentage of US military personnel due to its close proximity to Camp Pendleton.

Notable people

* Robert C. Frazee, California businessman and politician, was born in San Luis Rey.JoinCalifornia.com.-Robert Frazee
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References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in San Diego County, California North County (San Diego County) 1861 establishments in California Unincorporated communities in California