Historian David Mackesey will connect an armed 1883 railroad standoff to Coronado's rise as a resort town when he speaks at the Coronado Historical Association (CHA) on Thursday, Nov. 19.
The lecture, titled "From Colton Frog War to Coronado Fairways: How One Railroad Victory Unlocked Paradise," is the November installment of CHA's Wine & Lecture Series, according to the Coronado Eagle & Journal.
Mackesey's presentation centers on the "Frog War" at Colton Crossing, where Southern Pacific Railroad tried to block a rival line from reaching San Diego. The term "frog" refers to the section of track that allows two rail lines to cross at a junction, according to a San Bernardino County historical account.
The story has a cast worthy of a Western. Southern Pacific positioned locomotives on its tracks to physically block the California Southern Railroad from building a crossing at Colton. California Southern filed a lawsuit and won a court order, but Southern Pacific kept stalling.
In September 1883, supporters of both railroads gathered near the site carrying tools and firearms, according to the county account. Legendary lawman Virgil Earp, hired as a special agent, sat aboard a Southern Pacific locomotive blocking the crossing.
The standoff broke when future California Gov. Robert Waterman directed San Bernardino County Sheriff J.B. Burkhart to enforce the court order. Burkhart appointed 10 men and accompanied Waterman to the site, where the order was read aloud. Earp then told the engineer to move the locomotive. Citizens cheered as construction began.
The first California Southern train reached San Bernardino on Sept. 13, 1883. By November 1885, the completed line gave San Diego an independent transcontinental rail connection, ending Southern Pacific's stranglehold on the region, according to a Digital Desert railroad history.
That rail access fueled a real estate boom. In November 1885, five investors bought Coronado and North Island for $110,000, according to a Wikipedia account of the Hotel del Coronado's history. Among them was E.S. Babcock, a retired railroad executive. By April 1886, Babcock and partner Hampton L. Story had created the Coronado Beach Company, built ferry wharves and a water system, and begun planning the Hotel del Coronado, which opened in 1888 as the largest resort hotel in the world.
Mackesey's presentation will use historic photographs to trace that arc, according to the CHA event description. He is the author of "From Country Estate to Country Club, The History of Diablo Country Club" and serves as club historian for Carnoustie Golf Club in Scotland and Diablo Country Club in California, according to the Coronado Times event listing.
A wine and cheese reception starts at 5:30 p.m., followed by the lecture from 6 to 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 for CHA members and $30 for non-members. Reservations are required, and tickets are nonrefundable. To reserve, email [email protected] or call 619-435-7242.
