Oceanside, California

The first European explorers arrived in 1769. Spanish missionaries under Father Junípero Serra founded Mission San Luis Rey de Francia on a former site of a Luiseño Indian village on the banks of the San Luis Rey River called Keish according to the Portolà expedition who visited in the 1769.

In the early 19th century, the introduction of farming and grazing changed the landscape of what would become Oceanside.

Luiseños refusing to work for Captain Pablo de la Portillà in 1835

Following the Mexican secularization act of 1833, the Californian missions were nationalized, transferring their ownership from the Franciscan Order of the Catholic Church to the Mexican Government. A mission administrator was appointed to each mission to oversee the process of secularization, the removal of the priests, and the selling or granting of the mission lands to private citizens.

At Mission San Luis Rey, Padre Antonio Peyrí had presided over the mission for 34 years when soldiers forced his removal in late 1833. Captain Pablo de la Portillà was appointed as administrator of San Luis Rey. Following the departure of Padre Peyrí, relations between the Luiseños and the new civilian administration hugely deteriorated, resulting in their famed refusal to work for Captain Portillà in 1835.

View of Oceanside at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries

The Americanization School was built in 1931 as a segregated school which aimed at Americanizing Oceanside's Hispanic community.[7]

In the late 1850s, Andrew Jackson Myers, an emigrant from Illinois, lived in San Joaquin County, but he returned in the late 1880s and lived in San Luis Rey. In 1882 Myers moved on the land that was the original townsite for Oceanside. A patent for the land was issued in 1883 by the federal government.[8] It was incorporated on July 3, 1888. The city hall as of the early 21st century stands on the former Myers homestead.[8]

The town post office contains an oil-on-canvas mural, Air Mail, painted in 1937 by Elsie Seeds. Federally commissioned murals were produced from 1934 to 1943 in the United States through the Section of Painting and Sculpture, later called the Section of Fine Arts, of the Treasury Department.[9]

In the 20th century, Oceanside was a beach town devoted to activities on a 6-mile (10 km) stretch of beaches. Residential areas like downtown (built in the 1890s), South Oceanside (built in the 1920s and 1930s), and developments east of Interstate 5 (built after World War II) are preserved and remodeled when these houses are considered to have historical value. Since the establishment of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in 1942, Oceanside has been home to U.S. armed forces personnel, and the wartime industry of WWII and the 1950s had an ammunition manufacturing facility in the city.

After 1970, the main focus of Oceanside was suburban development. Oceanside continues to be known as a vacation home market.[10]

In the 2010s, several mid-rise and high-rise housing and lodging projects were completed in the downtown area, with more to come. In 2021, two large Hyatt resorts were completed, bringing more tourists to the city.[11]

Oceanside experiences a semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification: BSh) that is significantly tempered by maritime winds and the cool currents off the shoreline. The average high temperatures range from 64 to 77 °F (18 to 25 °C), while the average low temperatures range from 45 to 64 °F (7 to 18 °C). In 2023, The New York Times reported that Oceanside's beaches are decreasing is size due to dredging and other man made forces.[12]

The church at Mission San Luis Rey de Francia is a parish of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego.

The 2010 United States Census[18] reported that Oceanside had a population of 167,086. The population density was 3,961.8 inhabitants per square mile (1,529.7/km²). The racial makeup of Oceanside was 109,020 (65.2%) White, 7,873 (4.7%) African American, 1,385 (0.8%) Native American, 11,081 (6.6%) Asian (3.4% Filipino, 0.7% Japanese, 0.7% Vietnamese, 0.6% Chinese, 0.4% Korean, 0.2% Indian), 2,144 (1.3%) Pacific Islander, 25,886 (15.5%) from other races, and 9,697 (5.8%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 59,947 persons (35.9%).

The Census reported that 166,150 people (99.4% of the population) lived in households, 802 (0.5%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 134 (0.1%) were institutionalized.

There were 59,238 households, out of which 20,486 (34.6%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 30,201 (51.0%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 6,947 (11.7%) had a female householder with no husband present, 3,111 (5.3%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 3,504 (5.9%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 472 (0.8%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. Of the households 14,117 (23.8%) were made up of individuals, and 6,161 (10.4%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80. There were 40,259 families (68.0% of all households); the average family size was 3.32.

The population was spread out, with 39,817 people (23.8%) under the age of 18, 19,028 people (11.4%) aged 18 to 24, 45,797 people (27.4%) aged 25 to 44, 40,943 people (24.5%) aged 45 to 64, and 21,501 people (12.9%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.0 males.

There were 64,435 housing units at an average density of 1,527.8 per square mile (589.9/km²), of which 34,986 (59.1%) were owner-occupied, and 24,252 (40.9%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.2%; the rental vacancy rate was 6.2%. Of the population 97,645 people (58.4%) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 68,505 people (41.0%) lived in rental housing units.

Mount Ecclesia is the headquarters of the Rosicrucian Fellowship.

California Surf Museum

As of the census[19] of 2000, there were 161,029 people, 56,488 households, and 39,259 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,967.2 inhabitants per square mile (1,531.7/km²). There were 59,581 housing units at an average density of 1,467.9 per square mile (566.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 66.4% White, 6.3% African American, 5.5% Asian, 1.2% Pacific Islander, 0.4% Native American or Alaskan Native, 0.1% from another race alone, and 3.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race was 30.2%.

In 2000, there were 56,488 households, out of which 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.1% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.5% were non-families. Of all households 22.7% were made up of individuals, and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.33.

The age distribution of Oceanside in 2000 was as follows: 27.6% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 17.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $46,301, and the median income for a family was $52,232. Males had a median income of $34,772 versus $27,962 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,329. About 8.2% of families and 11.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.2% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.

In the California State Legislature, Oceanside is in the 38th Senate District, represented by Democrat Catherine Blakespear, and in the 74th Assembly District, represented by Republican Laurie Davies.[30]

In the United States House of Representatives, Oceanside is in California's 49th congressional district, represented by Democrat Mike Levin.[31]

The Oceanside Transit Center is a major railway interchange for long distance and commuter rail services. Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner provides service to San Luis Obispo via Los Angeles and San Diego. Metrolink's commuter rail service connects Oceanside to many parts of Greater Los Angeles, while Coaster commuter rail serves northern and central San Diego County. The Sprinter light rail service connects Oceanside to Escondido.

Oceanside Municipal Airport (OCN) is mainly used as a general aviation field. The nearest international airport is San Diego International Airport, connected to Oceanside via Amtrak and Coaster rail services.

Interstate 5 (I-5) travels through Oceanside, connecting to California State Route 76 (SR 76) and California State Route 78 (SR 78) within the city.