On April 22, 1884, the San Diego Union’s column on happenings in “San Luis Rey Valley and Vicinity” included this item:

The “Barham” referred to John Barham, a farmer and feed store owner who was also trying to develop a little town around his homestead and that of his father James. A post office named Barham had opened in May of 1883. By 1884 the town of Barham’s feed store had been joined by a blacksmith shop and a weekly newspaper, The Plain Truth. The newspaper’s editor, William Webster Borden, was also the town postmaster.

Barham is one of the places I’ll be talking about this Friday in my Oasis class, “What’s In A Name? Origins of San Diego County Place Names,” at 1:30 at the Ramona Community Library. To register for the class, go to https://www.oasisnet.org/San-Diego-CA/Classes and type in class number 798.

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Photo of Matthew Sherman from the book, History of San Diego 1542-1908, by William E. Smythe.

An item in the San Diego Union of March 13, 1872 on deeds filed included one for “Matthew Sherman to W. H. Lowery, lots 10 and 11, block 26 in Sherman’s Addition.”

Matthew Sherman was then a 45-year-old Civil War veteran. A native of Massachusetts, he’d been stationed in San Diego while serving in the Union army during the war and, taking a liking to the place, returned here to live after his discharge from the army in 1865. In 1867 Sherman bought 160 acres on a hilly area looking down on San Diego Bay. He built a small cottage for himself and his wife Augusta and proceeded to raise vegetables and keep a flock of sheep. He also began subdividing his land into lots which he offered for sale to others. The deed transaction indicates that he was having some success at that.

Sherman’s original cottage stood on what is today the northwest corner of 19th and J Streets. The crops and sheep are long gone but the neighborhood is still identified on maps as Sherman Heights.

Sources for this post included the books History of San Diego 1542-1908 by William Smythe,, San Diego County Place Names A to Z, by Leland Fetzer, and the online archives of the San Diego History Center.

Get Updates Automatically-Become A Follower of the San Diego History Seeker

You can get regular updates of San Diego History Seeker automatically in your email by clicking on the “Follow” button in the lower right corner of the blog page. You’ll then get an email asking you to confirm. Once you confirm you’ll be an active follower.