The Town of Bernardo

The Town of Bernardo was a small town site located about 2,000 feet east of the  Sikes Farmhouse on the main road between San Diego and the northern regions  of present-day San Diego County. The town consisted of about a half-dozen  buildings that included a general store, blacksmith shop, and Grange Hall. The  town served a community of about 400 people in outlying areas.  

The official founding of the community of Bernardo occurred on December 3,  1872 when a post office was established at the Sikes Farmstead with Zenas Sikes  as postmaster. Zenas was the first master of the Bernardo Grange, a local  chapter of a national fraternal association of farmers. The Grange was also  important in the social life of the community, organizing picnics and balls.

The general store at Bernardo was a landmark in the region for 40 years, serving  as the main commercial outlet for Valley Center, Rincon del Diablo (present-day  Escondido), San Pasqual, Bernardo, and Poway areas. The establishment of  Escondido in the late 1880s caused the gradual decline of the general store and  the town. Bernardo continued to exist as a community until the construction of  the Lake Hodges Dam in 1918. By that time, the City of Escondido had become  the dominant market town in northern San Diego County. The site of the store  and the post office was purchased as part of the Lake Hodges reservoir.