San Diego Legends: Events, People, and Places That Made History

This book brings together for the first time the many extraordinary accounts of famous and infamous people, places, and events in San Diego’s past. From Father Junípero Serra and Pedro Fages, to modern stars of stage and screen, you’ll meet the pioneers, plunderers and performers who once called this city home. Many people and events have "made headlines" in the San Diego papers—from the rise and fall of C. Arnholt Smith to the Heaven’s Gate suicides—and this book reveals the stories behind the news stories. There are fascinating historic tidbits, including a "nudist invasion" that wreaked havoc at the 1935 California-Pacific Exposition, the 1852 murder of the city’s first mayor, and a dramatic shootout at Campo’s Gaskill Store. Tales from all over the county are here, from the San Pasqual Battlefield to downtown’s former Harlem of the West to the would-be route of the "Impossible Railroad." The author also brings together for the first time a dozen tales from local Indian tribes—including an ancient Kumeyaay creation legend!