The Jenkins Homestead
In 1924, William Jenkins Sr., took advantage of the San Diego Sun offer and purchased several parcels on Eucalyptus Drive. He built the first cabin in the new resort development of Suncrest for his mother, Mrs. Outcalt.
In 1926, William and his wife Ethel acquired an additional 120 acre parcel through a land grant. They homesteaded the property where they raised their children, Grace, Bill Jr., Helen, Lewie, and Bev.
Under the Homestead Act of 1862 they didn’t have to pay anything for the land but were required to make improvements of at least $250 a year. The property was located on the easterly slope of the hilltop; their homestead papers were signed by President Herbert Hoover. Mrs. Jenkins noted about the early years, “There were times I got so lonesome, I talked to my chickens. They were just like my babies.”
William Jenkins owned a printing shop in San Diego. The Jenkins family was known for the Echo Ranch Dairy which was in operation for more than a dozen years starting in 1935 in Suncrest. When talking about Crest history, the Jenkins family always comes into play for many memorable reasons including the old Jenkins swimming hole, the home of many social activities for kids and adults alike.
The Jenkins swimming pool will bring back memories to many people. William Jenkins hired cement contractors in the 1930s to do the work. They used the existing boulders on the back sides and both ends building up the front with rocks, cement and tar, concreting the bottom. The pool held approximately 6,000 gallons of water provided by the family well and was approximately 12.5 ft. by 25 ft. and was only five feet deep in the deepest spot. It was used by all the neighborhood kids. Besides the pool there were caves which added fun to the trip to the Jenkins Ranch. One cave went right under the pool. Sometimes teams were picked and a game of hide and seek was played in the caves. There was one cave called “The Library Cave” where funny books and joke books were kept. In another cave kids roasted marshmallows and wieners. Good use was made of the picnic grounds which had been an Indian campground with grinding hole rocks. Kids found arrowheads, pottery, grinding rocks and other items while digging.
William and Ethel’s son, Bill met and married Crest resident Dewey Loughlin in 1946 and raised four kids on the Crest: Tom, Linda, Peggy, and Donna. Bill worked for the Crest Public Utility Company for three years doing everything from reading meters to helping to bring the water pipes up the hill. A local square dance group called the Hix Mixers, shared many great evenings at Bill and Dewey’s compound. The group helped to build a stage with cement floor and seats all around. They would dance until the wee hours, then lay out mattresses and rest, thus the compound acquired the name “mattress canyon.”
In 1935, Ethel Jenkins decided to start a dairy which she ran for more than a dozen years. Beverly Nerbonne, Ethel’s daughter explained, “On the Echo Ranch Dairy we had Jersey and Guernsey cows which gave real rich milk, the cream coming halfway down the bottle. We started with only seven cows building to twelve. There were no milking machines, so they had to be milked by hand. Ethel Jenkins ran the dairy serving customers ‘on the hill’ as the Crest was known. The first milk was delivered in a 1931 Studebaker with the back end cut out to make it a truck of sorts. This was later replaced by a 1936 Ford panel wagon, which I learned to drive when I was 15. At first my brother Bill and a neighbor, Birk Merrifield, helped my mother milk the cows. Later, my brother Lewie helped. During the war years both brothers went into the service so the job of milking fell to me. Getting up at 3:45 a.m. did not appeal to me. I would work until I had to go to school, knowing those cows would be waiting for me when I got home. Since we didn’t raise our own feed, the dairy became a losing proposition, so mom decided to shut it down. This was in 1946 and the war was over. I can’t say I was unhappy about her decision. Many people were disappointed when we closed the dairy as their babies and growing children had done so well on the milk. I look back now and marvel at the strength and character of Mom during that work-filled decade.”
Five generations of the Jenkins family have resided in Crest. As of 2015, Bill has the honor of being our most senior and longest residing citizen of Crest.
