Article Index

Vista Schooll and Irrigation Districts

Shortly thereafter, in 1917, the Vista Union School District combined the three elementary districts with one-room schools, the Vista, Buena, and Delpy Districts. The new district started with one elementary school, the Jefferson School, on what is now Vista Village Drive.

The school was joined in 1930 by the Lincoln Elementary School, now the site of City Hall. Before 1938, all high school students went to Oceanside High. The first class of the first Vista High (across Escondido Ave. from City Hall) graduated in 1938.

Growth of the area required a better water supply than that provided by the wells of the Vista Water Company in the ‘teens and early 1920's. In response, the Vista Irrigation District and necessary funding was created by vote of the people in 1923. After three busy years of construction, the new water supply from Lake Henshaw was turned on in a huge ceremony in 1926. A good supply of water made all subsequent development possible.

Irrigated agricultural land sprang up all around the central town. New buildings in downtown sprang up almost overnight. As the areas around downtown were subdivided into agricultural and residential lots to accommodate a growing population, there were about 400 residents in 1926, about 19,000 when the city incorporated in 1963, and over 95,000 today.

(760) 630-0444

MUSEUM LOCATION

2317 Old Foothill Dr.
Vista, CA 92084

MAP & DIRECTIONS

ONLINE DONATIONS

MAILING ADDRESS

P.O.Box 1032
Vista, CA 92085

FAX
(760) 295-9993

The Vista Historical Society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization IRS number 95-3752966