El Cajon

El Cajon has a mix of climate types. It falls partly in the Mediterranean category and partly in two kinds of semi-arid category, and the weather changes a lot over short distances. Moving east from the coast, the air becomes drier. Moving toward the mountains, rainfall increases.

Annual average rainfall is 11.63 inches (295.4 mm). February is the wettest month, with an average of 2.61 inches (66 mm). The swing between day and night temperatures is moderate, about 24 degrees Fahrenheit in summer and 26 degrees in winter. Snow is very rare. A fall of 0.3 inches was recorded in November 1992.

During Spanish rule, from 1769 to 1821, mission priests searched for pasture and found the El Cajon Valley. Its grasslands fed the cattle herds of the mission and of its Native converts. Under Mexican rule, land grants went mostly to wealthy Californio families. In 1845, Governor Pio Pico granted about 11 square leagues to Maria Antonia Estudillo de Pedrorena, wife of Miguel Pedrorena. The grant, called Rancho El Cajon, covered what is now El Cajon, Bostonia, Santee, Lakeside, Flinn Springs and the eastern part of La Mesa. It was confirmed after California joined the United States and was patented in 1876.

In 1868, Los Angeles developer Isaac Lankershim bought most of the Pedrorena land and hired Amaziah Lord Knox to manage it. In 1876, Knox opened a hotel for travelers between San Diego and Julian, where gold had been found in 1869. By 1878, 25 families lived in the valley, and part of the hotel lobby served as the post office, with Knox as postmaster. Maps of the 1870s shortened the name to Cajon. The full name, El Cajon, was restored in 1905.

The San Diego, Cuyamaca and Eastern Railway reached El Cajon in the 1880s. For the first half of the 20th century, farming was the main business, and the main crops were grapes, avocados and citrus. El Cajon was incorporated as a city on November 12, 1912.

In the 1960s and 1970s, a theme park called Frontier Town operated in the valley. It closed around 1980. The Cajon Speedway ran from 1961 to 2005.

Public bodies are among the largest employers in El Cajon: the Cajon Valley Union School District, the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District, the Grossmont Union High School District and the City of El Cajon itself. Other large employers include GKN Aerospace Chem-tronics, Kaiser Permanente, University Mechanical and Engineering Contractors, Avocado Post Acute, Taylor Guitars and Country Hills Health Care.

Parkway Plaza is a shopping mall in the city. Gillespie Field, an airport, lies on the border between El Cajon and Santee and is home to local aviation businesses.

The El Cajon Transit Center is the main bus and rail connection in the city. The San Diego Trolley serves El Cajon, and the Copper Line runs from the city to Santee, where it ends. At El Cajon, riders can transfer to the Green and Orange Lines, which serve East County, Old Town and downtown San Diego.

The San Diego and Imperial Valley Railroad is also listed among the city's rail links. Gillespie Field, a county airport, is on the city's northern edge.

The Cajon Valley Union School District runs the public elementary and middle schools. The Grossmont Union High School District runs the public high schools, which include Chaparral, El Cajon Valley, Granite Hills, Grossmont and Valhalla. Foothills Christian Schools and Christian High School San Diego are private options.

Two community colleges serve the area, Cuyamaca College and Grossmont College. The Water Conservation Garden is on the Cuyamaca College campus.