July 10, 2025
Volume 55 - No. 28
HOME SWEET HOME ESCONDIDO
RICHARD DENNING
By Friedrich Gomez Escondido in San Diego’s North County region is home sweet home to 146,000 people who enjoy many of America’s premier tourist attractions in or near Escondido, California. And, surprisingly, Escondido has been the home of some of the most notable people in the country. For example, Tom Anderson (co-founder of My Space), and Sean Salisbury (former ESPN anchorman and former NFL quarterback) who was a graduate of Orange Glen High School, as well
SAM BRANNAN
as one of history’s pivotal figures, Sam Brannan (California’s first millionaire). In regards to Sam Brannan (1819-1889), he was an undisputed mover-and-shaker in California’s history. After the murder of Mormon Church leader, Joseph Smith, in June of 1844, Brannan and other members of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons) moved to northern California. Brannan lived a most colourful life. He was an American settler, businessman, journalist, and prominent Mormon who founded the California Star newspaper in 1847, the first
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LAWRENCE WELK
newspaper in San Francisco, California. It was only the second newspaper in all of California, following The Californian (1846 in Monterey, and re-started later in San Francisco). Also, Brannan is considered the first to publicise the California Gold Rush in 1848 via his newspaper. His personal life declined sharply after his wife divorced him and he was forced to liquidate much of his real estate in order to pay her one-half of his total financial assets. He was never the same man after his divorce; a shell of his former self. After the divorce
devastated him – both emotionally and financially – he became a brewer and, ironically, became addicted to his own alcohol production. Forsaking San Francisco, the very city he helped develop, Brannan drifted south to San Diego and remarried. He became a permanent resident of Escondido, deciding to drift no more. His life in history books read of an amazing man, a visionary, who went from modest dollars to millionaire in a short span of time. One million dollars during his day is equivalent to around $41-million in 2025.
Escondido See Page 2