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150 Years Ago…
By Bobbie Bagel
November/December 2020
 C. 1890s Horton House |
 Young George Marston. Photos courtesy San Diego History Center |
George W. Marston first arrived in San Diego on October 24, 1870. His family was relocating from Ft. Atkinson, Wisconsin for health reasons. G.P. Marston, George's father, suffered from severe asthma. San Diego's mild climate would be a tonic for him. Father and son came ahead of the rest of the family to settle in. They travelled by train from Wisconsin to Chicago, then on past Omaha, Salt Lake City, and Sacramento, to San Francisco.
Along the way, George kept a journal, recording his impressions of all that he saw. After a short stay in San Francisco, George and his father took a steamer to San Diego. He celebrated his twentieth birthday, October 22, on the Pacific Ocean. They endured two days crossing choppy waters, until they docked at the Horton Wharf at the foot of Fifth Street. After travelling for a total of eleven days from Wisconsin, they had arrived at their destination—San Diego.
What did the father and son find in their new hometown? A dusty "city" with a population of 2,301 residents served by one bank and two weekly newspapers. The post office was on Sixth Street inside a drug store. There were several small wood frame shops with false fronts and covered porches. Horton's Hall, on Sixth and F streets, was one of the few two-story brick buildings. This is where the town's elite gathered for plays and musicals. The Horton House was a very elegant hotel where the Marstons stayed for their first six months in San Diego. George was hired as clerk to the manager on the very day he arrived.
And so it began, the illustrious career of George W. Marstonmdash;the merchant prince, city planner, astute businessman, selfless philanthropist, and progressive thinker. That's why we celebrate the 150th anniversary of his arrival in San Diego. No one could have possibly imagined what the future held for this personable, energetic, and industrious young man when he stepped onto that Fifth Street pier so long ago. But over the next seven decades, the city certainly benefited from his impressive legacy of accomplishments.
Bravo, George. Welcome to San Diego.
To learn more about George Marston's many lasting contributions to the San Diego region, please visit SOHO's online exhibit "The Marston Legacy: Progress and Preservation."
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