Prohibition in San Dieguito
Certain people, places, and events come to mind when reflecting on Prohibition in the United States: The Roaring Twenties, Al Capone, the Valentine’s Day Massacre, Chicago, speakeasies and the Great Depression. What about Southern California? Some local San Dieguito Prohibition stories may change your perspective.
Prohibition became effective on January 16, 1920, a year after the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, making it illegal to sell, manufacture, or transport alcohol for consumption in the United States. For some, this turned into big business.
Rum-running, also called bootlegging, was the smuggling of alcohol into the U.S. during Prohibition. Gangsters like Al Capone made millions from their bootlegging operations. With alcohol production and consumption still legal in nearby Mexico, it’s no surprise booze made its way north to San Dieguito.
There are several San Dieguito rum-running stories that have been passed down over the years, and a good number of them have Moonlight Beach in Encinitas as the backdrop. There has been some confusion whether this was a single incident or in fact several incidents. Though these stories have similar themes, it appears they are in fact separate incidents. An August 1994 article “Bootlegging Secrets,” featured in Encinitas Magazine, suggests that Moonlight Beach got its name from all the late night rum-running landings that took place there, like the story of one in 1928.
A rum-running boat had run ashore on Moonlight Beach with jugs of whiskey still aboard. There was no sign of the “captain,” but some men had backed a truck down to the shore to load the booze. There are conflicting stories, but when the men tried to drive off, either the truck had gotten stuck in the sand or the engine had died. Either way, they needed a plan B. A lone man stayed behind to stand watch over the loot. Meanwhile, a crowd of spectators lining the cliffs above Moonlight Beach was growing. Perhaps fearing the large crowd would attract the authorities, the man abandoned his post, leaving the booze unguarded. What followed may very well be the first “beach clean-up” in Encinitas history, as the fine citizens did their part by gathering the jugs and “disposing” of their contents properly.
Longtime Encinitas resident Ruthellen Myers Warner detailed a similar incident at Moonlight Beach in an August 1994 story, “Colorful Speck Myers,” featured in Encinitas Magazine. Warner’s father, Speck Myers, answered a late night knock on his door. A rum-running boat had gone ashore at Moonlight. Myers gathered his family into their car and went to investigate.
“I think most of Encinitas was there,” Warner recalled. “I could see the boat lying on its side and jugs scattered all over the beach.”
Warner’s father instructed some of the townspeople to gather the jugs while he went back to his house to get some containers to pour the liquor in. They collected all of it, nearly 200 gallons, according to Warren.
Solana Beach’s Seaside Reef was the setting of another “beach clean-up” in the late 1920s, only this time local law enforcement pitched in.
A rum-running boat had gone down, and five gallon barrels of alcohol began washing ashore. Local Deputy Sheriffs didn’t want to “bother” revenue agents at such a late hour. The men decided to gather the booze and keep it for themselves. Wanting to finish before daylight, the deputies enlisted some help. Encinitas Mayor, Dan Dalager, recalled the story.
“He was 19 years old, a motorcycle guy; he had been drinking and gotten arrested,” Dalager said. “They took him out of the jail cell, he was the only guy locked up at the time, and they had him help load up all of the booze.”
Revenue agents searched Encinitas for weeks but were unable to recover any of the alcohol.
“It was hidden in the back of the Encinitas jail,” Dalager chuckled.
Bootleggers not only smuggled booze by sea, but by air as well. One evening local rum- runner Art Ennis was flying a small plane stocked with booze from Tijuana. The plane encountered some engine trouble and went down somewhere near Rancho Santa Fe Road. Ennis ran to his friend Lucas Scott’s home and asked for help. Scott’s son Richard Scott reflected on the events of that night.
“We went up and got the stuff,” Scott recalled. “I think there were three or four, five-gallon cans of alcohol.”
They recovered the booze and buried it under Scott’s chicken coop to hide it from revenue agents.
“Alcohol control came to the house and wanted to know if we knew anything about [the booze],” Scott said.
The Scotts denied any knowledge of the lost liquor.
“Little did they know, they were within about 100 feet from the entire stash,” Scott laughed. “I guess I wouldn’t be here today if they found it.”
Prohibition was repealed by the United States on December 5, 1933 with the ratification of the 21st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Late night rum-running through San Dieguito became a thing of the past, but today we’re left with some great stories.
Mr. Scott said it best, “Those prohibition days were something else.”
San Dieguito River -
Some Lagoon History
During the 1920's the U.S. Navy established an emergency landing field in the San Dieguito River Valley in an area east and west of I-5, known as the San Dieguito Field. The property is believed to have been developed as a municipal airport around 1938 to serve the racing patrons at the new Del Mar Fairgrounds. The airport included a 3,500-foot runway and several support buildings. In 1941, the Navy acquired an extra 80.4 acres, but since the field could not accommodate modern aircraft, the US Naval Auxiliary Air Facility Del Mar, as it was known, became a base for lighter-than-air aircraft, also known as blimps. The Del Mar facility could accommodate two blimps, which were used in anti-submarine patrols along the west coast.
After Pearl Harbor, fairs and racing at Del Mar were suspended, and the Navy added the fairgrounds and racetrack to the main facility where the blimp mooring masts and landing fields were located. The fairgrounds became barracks, galleys, mess halls, offices, recreational facilities and classrooms for Navy personnel stationed there during the war.
Using radar, magnetic detection equipment and visual sightings, the blimps were used along the California coast to detect enemy submarines. They were K-types assigned to the blimp squadron ZP-31 based at the Santa Ana Naval Air Station. Approximately 134 K-type blimps were built for the war effort, each measuring 251.7 feet in length, able to lift 7,770 pounds, and with a maximum speed of 67.5 knots.
Usually only two blimps operated from the Del Mar field at one time since there were only two mooring masts. They were refueled at Del Mar and then continued anti-submarine patrols up and down the coast and as much as 100 miles out to sea.
The Del Mar Naval Auxiliary Air Facility was decommissioned in 1945 and the fairgrounds and racetrack returned to the State of California.
New owners
The Navy retained ownership of the airfield until 1947, when the 80.4 acres were quitclaimed to the County of San Diego for one dollar. The field was used as a civilian airport until 1959 when it was transferred to the State as part of the I-5 right-of-way.
After the airport closed, a company called Non Linear Systems moved its operations into the site barracks. NLS produced digital voltmeters, started in 1952 by a young Del Mar engineer, Andrew Kay. Work at NLS led to the production of the "Kaypro", one of the first home computers. NLS moved its plant to Solana Beach in 1968 and the airfield property has been vacant ever since.
At the present time only concrete foundation pads remain as well as septic tanks,underground gas-storage tanks and one of the two concrete wheel circles. These encircled mooring masts used to tether the blimps. Although of historical interest, the property has little remaining integrity. It is, however, worth a visit for those interested in how the past shapes the future.
San Diego Legends and Legacies©
If you are a surfer, ever wondered how surfing got started and how it developed in Encinitas? Well, here is your chance to learn. Click the link below to see a 16 minute video produced by MGE Productions, Inc., co-sponsored by the San Dieguito Heritage Museum, and funded by the city of Encinitas Community Grant Program and the Mizel Family Foundation. A high-quality full size version of the video can be seen at San Dieguito Heritage Museum.
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