Vista Enterprise
The first very successful agricultural enterprise was the Buena Vista Winery, founded by the Delpy family in 1879 at the corner of Foothill Drive and East Vista Way. The winery lasted until 1920, when it was a victim of Prohibition. The land was then used for avocados, citrus and other crops. The lack of water slowed area development. The winery and what became downtown had access to adequate well water, but most of the area had none.
John Frazier founded the Vista Post Office on Oct. 9, 1882, which gave Vista its name. He had hoped to name the area after himself as Frazier’s Crossing, but that name already existed in California. December 31, 1887, brought the railroad between Oceanside and Escondido, allowing crops to be brought to the coast for shipping.
The next major event was the subdivision of downtown into town lots and the opening of two buildings, the Vista Inn at the corner of what is today Santa Fe Ave. and Main Street; and the train depot across the road that replaced the freight platform. These actions in 1913 set the location of downtown permanently and began a major development of the area.