The Macpherson Clan Compound
The Scot-Canadian Macpherson clan was comprised of three brothers and a sister, who all became medical doctors in upper New York state before migrating westward at the beginning of the 20th century. A second sister, Mary Macpherson married Dugold McColl and joined with her siblings in the move to a gentler climate.
The first relatives to take an interest in Suncrest was a nephew, James Kelsa Macpherson and his wife, Laura. They heard Suncrest, Inc. offered promise for more permanent facilities for their increasing number of offspring. Kels and Laura bought two lots first, and finally six lots, located on Park Drive being sold by Ray Coats, circulation manager of the San Diego Sun newspaper. The lots sold for about $38.00 a lot and a subscription to the paper. The couple selected their lots facing east on land adjacent to Suncrest Park, now known as South Lane Park. They planned their original rustic designed log cabin among the prized eucalyptus saplings to catch the prevailing winds which have historically swept over the region in the heat of summer.
An uncle, Dr. James Frazer Macpherson and his wife, Elizabeth, bought contiguous parcels on which they built a second cabin. A third house was soon added by another uncle, Dr. William Alexander Macpherson and his wife, Nellie. Finally the compound became complete when their sister, Dr. Marjory Macpherson Potter and her husband, Dr. William Hale Potter, chose to place their mountain cottage just to the south of the other houses.
Soon the existing dwellings were no longer able to accommodate all the relatives and friends eager to share in the good, fun outdoor compound. Another nephew, Dr. James Macpherson McColl and his wife, Esther Cathryn, unable to locate adequate building space, bought their weekend cabin on Crest Drive in 1934. They later purchased Wilder Oaks in the 1940s just across the park from the others. The clan continued to band together in Suncrest to explore the numerous attractions of their newly adopted sub-region. All holidays were occasions for special festivities as well as other traditional activities such as singing, dancing and theatricals.
The fate of the Macpherson compound after 74 years provided a clue as to the serious drawbacks of living in this rustic paradise. That quite unpleasant reality was the constant threat of wildfires sweeping up our steep slopes covered with volatile chaparral. First one clan compound house was consumed by flames in one inferno, then another went up in smoke, torched by another blaze in a subsequent year. Finally, a third house was leveled in the notorious 1970 Laguna Fire which completely annihilated 115 homes in Crest. The only remaining house, built by the Drs. Potter, still stands on Park Dr.