Cornelius Family –  Barney and Dollie Cornelius 

One of the most influential of Crest’s families was the Cornelius family. Barney Cornelius was born around 1880 in Stevensville, Texas. Barney was a respected engineer on the narrow gauge railway between Durango and Telluride. He was also a successful sheep farmer, providing wool for World War I uniforms. His wife Dollie was born in Broadhead, Kentucky. After graduating from Brea College, she came west for health reasons, and settled in Durango teaching in a one-room school house. The two were married in 1906.

In December 1916, Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius and their four sons came to San Diego for a vacation and decided to stay. They bought a place on B Street. Soon after they arrived, Mrs. Cornelius didn’t feel well and the doctor recommended that she move from downtown San Diego to a drier climate.

In 1917, looking around for a place to live, Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius purchased a 368 acre ranch on “the hill” for $9,000 and moved into the ranch house.  The property, known as the Juanita Ranch, was being sold to settle the McCutcheon estate. In later years the ranch house was torn down and eventually the Suncrest Clubhouse was built on this location. It is now the location of the New Season’s Crest Church on Suncrest Blvd.

 The property had a large acreage of eucalyptus trees and a good ranch house. It was accessible only by a primitive private road which was essentially a one way dirt road with occasional turn-outs. This caused problems related to getting their kids to school. Once, when it had been raining for about a week, a truant officer from the valley school made his way up the hill to inquire why the Cornelius children had not been attending. Their mother invited the officer to walk the two-mile path which they had to follow to get to the bus; he declined. When returning home, the officer ran off the road, got stuck, and had to be pulled out by Barney Cornelius. In 1918, Barney and Dollie moved to El Cajon around the Anza-Lexington area to a 15 acre ranch they had bought so their children could be closer to school.

In the fall of 1924, the Cornelius family bought the 324 acre Circle A ranch and moved back to “the hill.” The Circle A ranch, located in the approximate area of the present day Crestridge Reserve/Cornelius Ranch, was much better suited for livestock than the Juanita Ranch property. Today, only the foundation remains of the Cornelius home located off Mountain View Rd. between Rios Canyon Rd. and Horsemill Rd. The old Cornelius Truck Trail is today’s road called Montana Serena.

In the early twenties, Barney and Dollie sold part of the McCutcheon property to Ray Coats of the San Diego Sun newspaper. Mr. Coats subdivided the property into small cabin sites and sold these lots to anyone who subscribed to the San Diego Sun. Originally, it was intended as a weekend retreat. This was the beginning of the Suncrest resort.

Around 1928, during the early years of the Depression, La Cresta was developed by Dollie and Barney Cornelius. Barney was the one who dug the three wells and a cave to furnish La Cresta with water. He also engineered the big water tank on Highline Trail. Willis Grant Cornelius, son of Dollie and Barney wrote, “We sold lots for $28.75 – $5 down and $5 dollars a month, 6% on the balance. It was the only use that could be made of this land.” Dollie would park their car along La Cresta Blvd. and put out her sign “Lots $5.00 down and $5.00 a month (or when you had it) for $50 and up.”  Lots were usually 25’ x 50’.

Dollie was the one who fought for having the La Cresta grade paved and oiled. She was the first woman to drive down the newly paved grade.

For 12 years, Mr. Cornelius drove a school bus back and forth from “the crest” for the Cajon Valley School District. Barney shared, “Each night I’d park the bus on the ranch and the chickens climbed aboard to roost.  We had to shoo the chickens out of the bus and collect the eggs every morning so the kids could ride.”

In spite of all his subdividing endeavors, in 1957, the Cornelius’ still had 800 acres left in the La Cresta area. Barney and his family continued to sell off land over the years. Barney shared, “The two newest housing projects are the Mountain View Estates and the Cornelius Ranch (north Crest). Now a three-acre lot and a new house costs more than I paid for the whole darn mountain.”

Barney Cornelius died at age 85 on February 8, 1965. Dollie Cornelius died September 17, 1960.

Additional Contributions by the Cornelius Family:

1928 – Barney Cornelius was in charge of the construction  of the Plunge, the Suncrest Pool The pool was located near the corner of Juanita Lane and  Park Drive.

928 -On Sundays, Dollie Cornelius sat in Nancy Jane Park near the road selling La Cresta lots.“This was done without high powered salesmanship or advertising. Dollie Cornelius developed the La Cresta section of Jarrett Lane so it would be laid out right. The streets on the south side of Jarrett were laid out crooked and there was a lot of confusion over survey markers which she did not want repeated.” La Cresta had its own set of guidelines.

In 1928 Land for a park was donated to the La Cresta community by Dollie and Barney Cornelius. Nancy Jane Park, consisting of 1.84 acres, was named for the youngest Cornelius child and was dedicated and recorded on February 8, 1928. 

In 1939, the La Cresta  Clubhouse was built by residents of La Cresta at what is now 113 North Park Drive. Land for the clubhouse was provided by the Cornelius family.

Barney and Dollie Cornelius officially granted the land for community use to the La Cresta Women’s Club on July 8, 1946 for the consideration of $10

Barney, was the one who dug the three wells and a cave to furnish La Cresta with water. He also engineered the big water tank on Highline Trail. He pumped the water to this tank and if he caught you wasting water or washing a car, he gave you a tongue lashing, two strikes and you are out! The third time he shut your water off and you would have to make a solemn promise not to repeat the offense.”

From 1926 to 1940, Barney Cornelius drove the school bus transporting kids to school before retiring in 1940.

Crest continued to grow throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s. Two large developments built during this period was Mountain View Estates (located off Rios Canyon Road) and Cornelius Ranch (located off Horsemill Road). These developments are located near the area where Barney and Dollie Cornelius raised their family on their 324 acre Circle A Ranch.  They are located close to the present day Crestridge Reserve. In 1962 John Gibson, developer of Mountain View Estates, in 1962 recalls when John was a young boy, his dad purchased 600 acres, including much of the Circle A Ranch, from Barney Cornelius.