is the second oldest building in Vista. The Vista area was originally inhabited by the
Luiseño people, who established a village called
Tovalum. Spain controlled the land from the late 18th century to the early 19th century and established various
missions. Spanish presence declined by the 1830s with the
independence of Mexico from Spain. The Mexican government began to grant
ranchos to a variety of people. Three of these were granted in Vista as
Rancho Guajome,
Rancho Buena Vista, and
Agua Hedionda Y los Manos. In the 1850s the ranchos began to fade due to changing political conditions and the scarcity of water. A growing number of settlers came to the area after California became a state in 1850 and began to create smaller agricultural holdings. One settler in the Vista area,
John A. Frazier, applied to open the first post office and after several attempts to name the city (
Frazier and
Buena Vista were already taken), Frazier finally chose the name "Vista"; the post office was opened in 1882. In 1870, Bernard Delpy arrived from France to build what eventually became known as "Delpy Corners" at the intersection of today's
East Vista Way and Foothill Drive. His nephew, Jules Jacques Delpy, joined him in 1879 and together they planted several hundred acres of grapes. In 1886, they built the first successful winery in the country. The winery was shut down by the
Prohibition era. Inhibited by the lack of water, Vista grew slowly through the early 1910s to less than 1,000 people. With a 1923, however, the Vista Irrigation District had the necessary funding to construct a new water supply from
Lake Henshaw. Agriculture began to flourish in the area, including citrus fruits, tomatoes, celery, and most prominently avocados. Vista became home to multiple avocado packing facilities, and by the late 1940s was promoted as "the avocado capital of the world" The rise in agriculture led in turn to further commercial development. Following
World War II, agriculture declined with an influx of population and housing. The City of Vista was incorporated on January 28, 1963. The frequent housing booms of the 1970s through early 2000s greatly increased the population of Vista, and the city limits have grown as well. Many light manufacturing businesses moved into Vista beginning in the 1980s, and with the founding of several breweries in the 21st century Vista has become a significant element in the
San Diego craft beer industry. Since the 1990s, the downtown area has received about $12 million in investments from Vista for improvements. The City of Vista released a plan in 2015 for the further development of downtown, aiming to make it the main commercial, social, and cultural hub in Vista. ==Geography==