Gem found in the ‘Jewel of the Hills’

Hiding in plain sight for decades, a precious piece of La Mesa history has been uncovered in Grossmont.

The long kept secrets of a home in the Brier neighborhood were recently discovered during research conducted for a new history publication about La Mesa.

brier home pic 2 — Although the home at 9250 Briercrest Road has been remodeled inside-and-out through the years, the simple architecture of this “citrus ranch” home sets it apart from its neighbors.

The home, located at 9250 Briercrest, is unassuming and blends with the other custom homes of differing architectural designs. But its impressive front porch, simple design and lack of a garage separate it from other homes in the neighborhood. The old home was built at a time before automobile garages were needed and shade from the utilitarian porch offered relief from the sweltering summer sun.

County assessor records date the home as “built” in 1924, but photo evidence points to a much earlier construction date. A comparison of the home’s position relative to a structure seen in a 1913 photograph proves it to be at least 9 years older. The mature eucalyptus trees shading the road that lead to the structure indicate it may be at least 12-15 years older still.

Homestead records and mortgage agreements for the land, originally used as a “fruit ranch,” offer compelling evidence that the home may date as far back as the 1880’s- making this home potentially one of the oldest structures in La Mesa.

Family lore from a previous owner

More interesting than the age of the home is family lore from a previous owner.

La Mesa resident John Ireton’s family lived in the home for 54 years before selling it to the current owners in 2022. Stories passed down to him from his parents include the home being used as a stage stop “inn” for a period; later, by a motion picture production studio for employee use in the 1920’s.

Census records indicate the home may have very well been a “hotel” for a brief period in the early 1900’s. According to Gary Mitrovich of the Lakeside Historical Society, it was not unusual for smaller residences along wagon roads to be used as hotels for weary travelers. Adjacent to the road to El Cajon, now Interstate 8, the home in the Brier neighborhood may have been one of them.

In 1917, just four years after the Brier Tract area was photographed, Col. Ed Fletcher purchased multiple lots in the tract. His sale of the home’s lot to S-L Film Studios in 1922 is documented. The transfer of title from Fletcher to S-L Studios may have triggered the county assessor’s recorded “built” date for property tax collection purposes because no earlier construction dates were available. According to the development services department for both the City of La Mesa and San Diego County, they do not exist today.

sl studios pic 3 — Circa 1922. Built in 1922 by the Fletcher backed S-L Studios as a film production facility in the Brier Tract of Grossmont, the building would later become a roller-skating rink and then a dine & dance hall before burning to the ground in 1934. Photo courtesy of La Mesa History Center.

Fletcher’s hope of creating a “Hollywood” in Grossmont were paused in 1924 when his financially backed S-L Studios failed. His creation of Grossmont Studios in the same location kept the hope alive until 1928 when it, too, finally fizzled. During these years, the only home in the Brier Tract, immediately adjacent to the studio building could have been used by S-L Studios or Grossmont Studios. Fletcher had an interest in both and using the all-ready-existing home for the studio production company’s use seems likely.

Ireton’s recount of the identity of two “very old men” visiting his home in the 1970’s, claiming to be S-L Studio employees, remains a mystery. Their stories of the home and movie set material stored on the property coincided with actual “very old material” once stacked on the vacant lot behind his home, according to Ireton.

Although circumstantial, the evidence of the Brier neighborhood home’s history as a hotel and later as part of Fletcher’s movie making endeavors seems strong. Without construction records, the exact age of the home may never be known.

The certainty of its future is definite, however, as new generations continue their stewardship of this La Mesa “gem.”

Richard Sweeney is a San Diego native and a Grossmont resident of 37 years. For more information about the Brier “fruit ranch” and other stories about Grossmont and the East Alvarado Canyon vicinity soon to be published in La Mesa’s Streets of Texas, contact Richard at [email protected]

Top photo caption: Circa 1913. North view of the Brier Tract adjacent to the El Cajon Road, now Interstate 8. The tree-lined road leading from the El Cajon Road is roughly where Severin Drive is located today. The road turns west up the knoll, leading to the home still standing in the Brier neighborhood. Left of the home is the old Eucalyptus Reservoir and maintenance yard, terminus for the Cuyamaca Water Company flume that brought water down from Lake Cuyamaca. The empty rolling hills north of the tract to the base of Cowles Mountain (top, center) today includes the Lake Murray and San Carlos neighborhoods. The Miles House (far right) and the Wister House (bottom, foreground) remain today as part of Grossmont’s early history. Photo courtesy of La Mesa History Center.