Lakeside has a population of about 17,000.  In the Lakeside Union School District there is the Lakeside town site and many subdivisions such as Lakeside Farms, Eucalyptus Hills, San Vicente Farms, Winter Gardens, Riverview, El Monte Valley, Lakeview, Los Coches Farms; also Johnstown and Glenview over to the north side on Highway 80.  The Wildcat Canyon area and the Barona Indian Reservation are also a part of the Lakeside Union School District.

  All of Lakeside was originally a part of the vast [Mexican] land grant of Rancho El Cajon.  The ranch that is now Lakeside proper was owned for many years by Ben Hill.  He raised racehorses at his home on Willow Road at the foot of Wildcat Canyon Road.
  In 1886, Ben Hill sold 6,600 acres of his ranch to the El Cajon Land Company.  The Company laid out the town site and named it Lakeside because of Lindo Lake in the center of town.  They built the three-story Lakeside Inn that was later called "the Hotel Del Coronado of the Mountains."  It was of similar design and architecture and drawn by the same architect.  It had one hundred and fifty guest rooms, a bar and dance floor, a large dining room and lobby.
  John Gay bought the Lakeside Inn about 1904 and brought it to its height of elegance and popularity.  There was boating, fishing and hunting on the Lindo Lake, golf courses and tennis courts for all guests to enjoy.
  In 1906, John Gay built a two-mile racetrack around Lindo Lake Park, the first racetrack in San Diego County.  Here it was that Barney Oldfield, in his "Green Dragon," in 1907 made his first world speed record of one mile [in less than] a minute racing against Bruno Seidel in his "Red Devil."
  The Lakeside Inn was torn down in 1920 and the lumber was used to build many homes in Lakeside.  A new hotel was started in 1926 but was never finished.  Lakeside's new Post Office is now built on the site.
  In 1889, when the first train of the San Diego - Cuyamaca and Eastern Railway arrived in Lakeside there was a big celebration, barbecue, dances, and speeches.  California Governor Waterman, who had built the railroad with his own money, was the speaker of the day.
  A short time later the tracks were extended three miles north to the Foster Stage Station, near where the San Vicente Dam is now.  The Foster and Frary Stage Line had formally run between San Diego and Julian.  But with the coming of the railroad, the stage and freight wagons just traveled between Foster and Julian.
  The 1916 flood washed away the railroad bridge and tracks between Lakeside and Foster and were never rebuilt, so Lakeside was again the end of the line.  The tracks between Lakeside and Santee were torn up in 1938, and then during World War II the tracks were taken out between Santee and El Cajon as the tracks ran through where Gillespie Field is now. El Cajon is now the

end of the line.
  Another stage line, the Alpine Center Line, ran between Lakeside and Descanso.  A stage left Lakeside and Descanso at the same time of day and met in Alpine at the Alpine Tavern Stage Station, where each driver received fresh horses.  The old stage barn is still standing on Maine Street, just north of the Lakeside Bank.
  After Ben Hill had sold the 6,600 acres to the El Cajon Land Company, he moved to the two-story home he had built on his remaining 1,350 acres west of town.  Here he continued to raise racehorses and train them.  He sold the ranch in 1893 to Mr. Darius Key who owned it until 1910.  In 1912 the property was subdivided and became Riverview Farms and Winter Gardens.  The old home was on Woodside Avenue and Marilla Drive, a few blocks west of Lakeside Junior High School.  It was torn down in 1963 and an 88-unit apartment [building] was built on the site.  So, Lakeside lost another landmark.
  A 3,000-acre ranch across the [San Diego] river and west of Lakeside was originally owned by Major Levi Chase in 1874.  It changed hands many times.  Joseph Winchester sold the ranch in 1897 to William H. Ferry.  Mr. Ferry sold 2,000 acres to Mr. Mayers who subdivided it and planted eucalyptus trees on the lots.  It became Eucalyptus Hills.
  In 1910 the remaining 1,000 acres were subdivided and became Lakeside Farms.  The old two-story ranch house, the oldest in Lakeside, is still standing on Palm and Lakeside Avenue.  The present owners are raising horses.
  One other area that included El Monte Valley, Blossom Valley and Johnstown, was a part of the 5,000-acre ranch owned by Mr. Frink.  It extended from the present El Monte Pumping Station to the foot of El Cajon Mountain, and south to Flinn Springs and Johnstown on Highway 80.  It was subdivided in 1914 and most of the land is still in the Lakeside Union School District.
  The 29-acre Los Coches Rancho, one of the smallest [Mexican] land grants, was entirely surrounded by the Rancho El Cajon.  It is now part of the Lakeview District of Lakeside.
  The old Barona Ranch, northwest of Lakeside, became the Barona Indian Reservation about 1935. The Indians bought the ranch after they sold their El Capitan reservation lands to the city of San Diego for the site of the El Capitan Dam [and reservoir].
  Lakeside has a stately old castle house with stained-glass windows.  It is a two-story house with a third floor tower room reached by a spiral staircase.  The "Castle House" was built in 1887 by Mr. Mansfield who was vice-president of the El Cajon Land Company, the subdividers of Lakeside. The Castle House was recently purchased by two young men who have painted it and are restoring it to its former beauty.
  Another landmark is the Lakeside Community Presbyte-

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