The History Of Deerhorn Valley

Researched And Written By Russell Adams

Special Thanks To Dorothy Clark Schmidt and Melicent Lee

In 1953 a freight plane carrying tomatoes from Mexico to California crashed near the summit of Otay Mountain which led to the discovery of an ancient site once inhabited by humans. Some artifacts collected there were dated nearly 9,000 years old! The descendants of these prehistoric dwellers were encountered by the Spanish during conquest of the Californias in the early 1500's. They were given the name "San Digits" by missionaries who traveled with the Conquista to sanction newly acquired lands while "converting the pagan savages" they encountered. The "Dieguenos" were actually members of two distinct tribes that peacefully coexisted; the Tipai and Ipai, meaning, People). Their thriving population was by estimate fully 20 or 30,000 at the time of first contact, though few documents have survived to attest its accuracy. These people inhabited land from the Pacific to Yuma and from San Pascqual to Ensenada. Considering the vast area and abundant habitat, their actual numbers could have been well in excess of 100,000. In the short span of about 20 years, disease and brutality reduced the natives to a mere few thousand souls. Stubborn resistance lasted until 1769, when accepting life within the confines of Mission San Diego de Alcala became their only hope of survival. Today, the remnant is generally known by a name of its own giving, which is "Kumeyaay".

When Mexico wrested power from the Spanish in 1821, Pio Pico was appointed Governor of the Californias and he settled a huge rancho in Jamul. Amazingly, some of the Tipai and Ipai still clung desperately to the old ways, harvesting the Acorns, and somehow able to scratch out survival in the least hospitable reaches of east county. When the U.S. took control in 1848 a flood of homesteaders moved west and the natives suffered nearly constant harassment by modern pioneers seeking to occupy the newly opened lands. Discovery of gold in Julian triggered a final blow for Tipai and Ipai culture, and the population again went nearly extinct, sagging perhaps to less than 1000. Only a few dozen remained in Jamul when the first American family arrived to put down roots in Deerhorn Valley around 1868.

Napoleon Bratton, his wife Katherine, and their four sons are recorded as the first to acquire squatters rights in Lyons Valley, where they built a house and blazed a road through Lee Valley to Jamul. The Bratton's carved out posterity by raising Spanish Longhorn Cattle on the free range lands, sharing the sufficient water resources with two other families in the Dulzura area; the Marrons, and the Harveys. Natural conditions kept the beef industry at a minimally profitable level, but in drought years they were known to drive as far as Campo and Laguna to find decent grazing. The youngest son, John, married Martha Stetson Sheckler and homesteaded 300 acres to the north of Mother Grundy, where the original house he built there in 1879 can still be seen today. Their daughter Rose married Leo Schiller a jeweler in San Diego, while 14 year old son Charles took full control of the ranch in Bratton Valley. He lived in a small cabin there, well into his twilight years, managing a modest herd until 1961 when severe drought finally forced him to sell.

In 1873, 15 year old Albert Walker moved to Jamul from Indiana, staying with "old Mr.Barrett", at a place on Cottonwood Creek they called, "The Swamp", the site which became Barrett Lake. He stayed on a year, living in a cabin hand hewn of cottonwood logs and tending the apiaries of his host. Napoleon Bratton hired Albert in '74 as a ranch hand where he and son John soon became best friends. Together they tended herd from Japatul to the Mexican border, and west from the Jamul Land Grant to Engineer Springs. Many were the years of minimal rain, and they became expert at utilizing the limited sources of water to keep their families and animals alive. Only three yearlong springs existed, one in Lyons Valley, one in Lawson, and of course, one in Deerhorn. Legend has it that the name "Deerhorn Spring" or "Deerhorn Flat" was thus christened by Albert and Charles one day while watering their mounts. They discovered a pair of deer that had died in battle, entangled horns hopelessly locked together. It seemed an appropriate monument to affix the fateful buck-horns into the crotch of an old Sycamore trunk, giving birth to our beloved Deerhorn Valley.

Learn more about the original settlers of Dulzura, Honey Springs, and Marron Valley in upcoming episodes presented on this site! Meet the Harveys, Marrons, Hagenbucks, and Camps. The Shecklers, Clarks, and Donnahoes. Discover how these remarkable people transformed this unique landscape with schools, phones and postage stamps, to usher in the modern paradise we know and love today! Till next time!! Be Good To One Another!