Warner's Ranch, near

Warner Springs, California Warner Springs is set of springs and a small unincorporated community in northern San Diego County, California. It is on the Pacific Crest Trail. Geography Warner Springs has a post office; its ZIP Code is 92086. It is located near Palomar Obs ...

, was notable as a way station for large numbers of emigrants on the

Southern Emigrant Trail :''The Southern Emigrant Trail should not be confused with the Applegate Trail, which is part of the Emigrant Trail, Northern Emigrant Trails.'' The Southern Emigrant Trail, also known as the Gila Trail, the Kearny Trail, the Southern Trail and ...

from 1849 to 1861, as it was a stop on both the Gila River Trail and the

Butterfield Overland Mail Butterfield Overland Mail (officially Overland Mail Company)Waterman L. Ormsby, edited by Lyle H. Wright and Josephine M. Bynum, "The Butterfield Overland Mail", The Huntington Library, San Marino, California, 1991. was a stagecoach service in ...

stagecoach line (1859-1861). It was also operated as a pioneering cattle ranch. The property, with two original

adobe Adobe (from arabic: الطوب Attub ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for mudbrick. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is use ...

buildings from 1849 and 1857, was declared a

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meetin ...

in 1939, and a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 1961. There is evidence that travelers stayed at the original 1849 ranch house.Charles Snell and Patricia Heintzelman (1963 and 1975) , National Park Service and The ranch is located south of

Warner Springs Warner Springs is set of springs and a small unincorporated area, unincorporated community in northern San Diego County, California. It is on the Pacific Crest Trail. Geography Warner Springs has a post office; its ZIP Code is 92086. It is loca ...

History

This area had long been inhabited by the

Cupeño The Cupeño (or Kuupangaxwichem) are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe of Southern California. They traditionally lived about inland and north of the modern day Mexico–United States border in the Peninsular Rang ...

American Indians, who first encountered Europeans when

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 ...

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

arrived in the area. The Cupeño were forced into the colonial mission system and over time lost control of their land, although under Mexican law they were supposed to receive rights to land which they tilled and settled. They continued to live and work in the area, however. In 1830, Juan José Warner (born John Trumball Warner) left Connecticut and headed to California, passing through this valley. He worked as a fur trader and merchant in Los Angeles. By 1844, he had become a naturalized Mexican citizen and changed his name to Juan José. He received the

Rancho San Jose del Valle Rancho or Ranchos may refer to: Settlements and communities *Rancho, Aruba, former fishing village and neighbourhood of Oranjestad *Ranchos of California, 19th century land grants in Alta California ** List of California Ranchos * Ranchos, Buenos ...

Mexican land grant. Warner established a successful trading post there in the San José Valley, and purchased cattle from

Rancho Santa Margarita Rancho Santa Margarita was a Ranchos of California, Mexican land grant in the Santa Lucia Range, Santa Lucia Mountains, in present day San Luis Obispo County, California, San Luis Obispo County, central California. The List of Ranchos of Cali ...

; this lasted until 1851. On December 2, 1846, Stephen Watts Kearney, with a small command from New Mexico, reached the ranch on what proved to be his way to the

Battle of San Pasqual The Battle of San Pasqual, also spelled San Pascual, was a military encounter that occurred during the Mexican–American War in what is now the San Pasqual Valley, San Diego, California, San Pasqual Valley community in the county of San Diego, ...

. He was later followed by the

Mormon Battalion The Mormon Battalion was the only religious unit in United States military history in federal service, recruited solely from one religious body and having a religious title as the unit designation. The volunteers served from July 1846 to Jul ...

, that was establishing the route of

Cooke's Wagon Road Cooke's Wagon Road or Cooke's Road was the first wagon road between the Rio Grande and the Colorado River to San Diego, through the Mexican provinces of Nuevo México, Chihuahua, Sonora and Alta California, established by Philip St. George Coo ...

from New Mexico to California. More importantly, from 1849 to 1851, Warner operated part of the ranch to serve travelers on the Gila River Emigrant Trail (part of the

). He opened the only trading post between New Mexico and Los Angeles on a wagon road developed after the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

. Thousands of emigrants began flowing to California. This trail later was used by the

stagecoach line, from 1857 to 1861. When California became part of the United States, new obligations for taxes were applied to the

. Many of them worked on the Warner ranch, which had a negative reputation for severe treatment of Indians. In 1851, at the beginning of the

Garra Revolt The Yuma War was the name given to a series of United States military operations conducted in Southern California and what is today southwestern Arizona from 1850 to 1853. The Quechan (also known as Yuma) were the primary opponent of the Unite ...

, an uprising by the local Cupeño tribe under Antonio Garra, Warner was attacked at his ranch. He sent his family to Los Angeles. Some of the ranch buildings were burned, but Warner continued to operate it, until his grant was challenged by a former claimant.Vincent Nicholas Rossi, "Warner Springs' history shadowed by conflict"
''San Diego Union'', 28 Jan 2007 Warner's Ranch was a stop on the San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line in 1857 and the

stagecoach line between 1858 and 1860. It was linked to

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

by the San Diego -

Fort Yuma Fort Yuma was a fort in California located in Imperial County, across the Colorado River from Yuma, Arizona. It was established in 1848. It served as a stop on the Butterfield Overland Mail route from 1858 until 1861. The fort was retired from ...

mail route via the road through Santa Isabel to San Diego. Travelers rested here along their journey, after the trip through the desert. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Union troops established

Camp Wright Oak Grove Butterfield Stage Station is a stage station in the western foothills of the Laguna Mountains, in northern San Diego County, California. It is located on California State Route 79, State Route 79, northwest of Warner Springs, Californ ...

on the grounds of Warner's Ranch on October 18, 1861. The installation was designed to protect California from attack along the route of the emigrant travel route between

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

and California. Due to difficulties caused by frequent high winds on the exposed position, the location of the camp was moved by Major

Edwin A. Rigg Edwin Augustus Rigg (1822–1882), California Gold Rush#Forty-niners, 49er, was a military officer in the American Civil War and the Apache Wars. Early life Edwin Augustus Rigg was born January 15, 1822, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He moved to ...

1st California Infantry The 1st Regiment California Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It spent its entire term of service in the western United States. History Most of the 1st California was recruited from Augu ...

on November 23, 1861, to Oak Grove Butterfield Stage Station some to the north, also in San Diego County. The ranch passed through several hands until in 1880, John G. Downey, former governor of California, became sole owner of Warner's Ranch. He started legal efforts in 1892 to evict the Cupeño. They challenged his actions under provisions of Mexican and United States law, but lost their case in the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

in 1901. The court ruled they were correct in their assessment of rights to the land, but had waited too long to press their claim. The case was followed closely by many citizens who had sympathy for the Cupeño. They tried to purchase their own land but were unable to raise sufficient funds. The local tribe was relocated to

Pala Indian Reservation The Pala Indian Reservation is located in the middle of San Luis Rey River Valley in northern San Diego County, California, east of the community of Fallbrook, and has been assigned feature ID 272502. Historic variant names used to describe the ...

on May 12, 1903. The first advertising for the hot springs was in 1894. Gradually a resort was developed, called Warner Hot Springs, which became popular in the 1950s. The ranch house was designated a

in 1961. The property holds the now-restored 1849 adobe ranch house and the Restored 1857 Carillo Adobe and barn which was the original Butterfield Stage Station and Trading Post.

Today

The historic portion includes an adobe ranch house and barn. The Ranch House has been restored and open to the public on weekends 12PM to 4PM and by appointment.

References

External links

Warner Springs Resort

Flanigan, Kathleen, The Ranch House at Warner’s, The Journal of San Diego History, SAN DIEGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY QUARTERLY, Fall 1996, Volume 42, Number 4
from sandiegohistory.org.
Photo of the Warner Stage Station in San Felipe Valley, San Diego County, from USC Digital LibraryWarners Ranch Butterfield Stage Station location, on USGS 1:24K topographic map Warners Ranch, CA, view from TopoQuest
* * {{Butterfield2 Cupeño Buildings and structures in San Diego County, California Adobe buildings and structures in California History of San Diego County, California Butterfield Overland Mail in California San Antonio–San Diego Mail Line California Historical Landmarks National Historic Landmarks in California National Register of Historic Places in San Diego County, California Tourist attractions in San Diego County, California Historic American Buildings Survey in California American frontier 1844 establishments in Alta California Stagecoach stops in the United States