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Photograph of The Castle
Photograph by JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ. M.D, CC BY-SA 4.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Castle, The

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. 13 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1903.

From the record

One of 148 National Register listings published here for San Diego County · listed in 1978 · category: Building.

Sources: the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 8 buildingss, 2 structuress as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. W of Ramona, Ramona, 92065
  • When was it listed? March 1978
  • Category. building
  • Census division. San Diego
  • Architect. John Terrell Vawter
  • National Register reference number. 78000749 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Then and now

1903 to 1997

The ground this property stands on, surveyed 94 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet covering Castle, The, surveyed 1997
Topographic sheet covering Castle, The, surveyed 1903

Fires near this property

381 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 381 fires within 5 miles of Castle, The between 1992 and 2020, burning about 5,430 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 29 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined174
Equipment and vehicle use105
Arson/incendiarism29
Debris and open burning27
Misuse of fire by a minor21
Recreation and ceremony12
Smoking5
Power generation/transmission/distribution4
Natural2
Other causes2

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
8 September 1993Arson/incendiarism409 acresCalifornia Desert DistrictCLEVENGER
7 September 1995Arson/incendiarismunder an acreSan Diego UnitHUNTER
5 September 1995Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSan Diego UnitROBERTSON
5 September 1994Misuse of fire by a minor1.5 acresSan Diego UnitLA BREA
4 September 1997Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreSan Diego UnitPATCO
30 September 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresSan Diego UnitDYE RD / RAMONA ST
28 September 2012Missing data/not specified/undetermined12 acresSan Diego UnitMATTHEW
28 September 1993Arson/incendiarism705 acresCalifornia Desert DistrictCOACH

Every fire recorded in San Diego County

Mines and quarries near this property

6 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Castle, The: 2 prospects, 2 past producers, 1 occurrence, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Molybdenum, Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
San Pasqual PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
BourMolybdenumOccurrenceFerrimolybdite, Molybdenite
Bour DepositMolybdenumProspect
Bour MineMolybdenumProducerFerrimolybdite, Molybdenite
Fernbrook DepositMolybdenumProspect
Judson Ranch DepositMolybdenumPast Producer

Every working recorded in San Diego County

Storms near this property

28 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Ramona, the town this property stands in, in 28 storm reports between 1998 and 2023: 10 flash flood, 9 wildfire, 2 thunderstorm wind, 2 debris flow. The reports record 13 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 2002WildfireRamona4 hurtno account filed
August 1999WildfireRamona3 hurtA wild fire burned 300 acres. Three firefighters were slightly injured.
June 2001WildfireRamona3 hurtno account filed
August 2001WildfireRamona3 hurtno account filed
September 2007Thunderstorm WindRamona$60,000A thunderstorm with heavy rain produced a severe microburst in downtown Ramona. Numerous trees were blown over or sustained damage, including a number of Eucalyptus trees along Main Street. Several power poles were blown over along Highway 78 just east of town and a few outbuildings sustained damaged. There was also damaged to signs, fencing, and even a public bench.
April 2004Flash FloodRamona$45,000no account filed
March 2006Tornado (F0)Ramona$25,000This tornado touched down along highway 78 just northwest of Ramona before moving into a rural neighborhood on the outskirts of town. The tornado knocked downed dozens of trees, snapped a few pines in half, tossed a child's fort, damaged some solar panels, bent or distorted a couple of rolling garage doors, ripped off the metal roofing from a storage shed or barn, and blew off a number of tiles from a roof.
December 2004Flash FloodRamona$15,000A resident of the San Diego Country Estates who's property is in the Cedar Fire burn area reported that 1.10 inches of rain fell in 40 minutes, resulting in a high velocity mudflow that traveled down the burned hills and through his yard.
February 2019Flash FloodRamona$10,000Swift water rescue near Barona Indian Reservation on Wildcat Canyon road. Heavy rainfall of 4 to 6 inches occurred in about 12 hours.
January 2005Flash FloodRamona$10,000no account filed
January 2005Flash FloodRamona$5,000no account filed
January 2023Debris FlowRamona-CalTrans report of a mudslide on Old Julian Highway by MM 4.5.
March 2023Debris FlowRamona-The Department of Highways reported a large boulder blocking the southbound lanes of Highway 78.
March 2022Heavy RainRamona-Public report of rainfall of 1.17 inch, 1mi SSE of Ramona.
September 2022Flash FloodRamona-Portions of Wildcat Canyon Rd on the Barona Reservation under 3-10 inches of running water due to heavy rainfall. Visibility reduced to 1/4 mile during rain.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindRamona-Reported branches down on roadway and small trees near San Vincente Road and Wildcat Canyon Road in south Ramona. Wind gusts nearby 40 to 45 mph on mesonet.
June 2015Flash FloodRamona-CHP reported a second-hand report of flash flood wash out with a depth of 1.5 feet of soil across the pavement at Highland Valley Road and Highway 67 near Ramona, as well as a mud slide across roadway at Highland Valley Road and Archie Moore Road in Poway.
August 2014Flash FloodRamona-Water up to 2 feet deep reported at the intersection of Aqua and 4th Streets.
September 2012FloodRamona-Spotter SDG447 reported 0.84 inches of rain between 1430 and 1500 PST, which resulted in flooded roadways in the San Diego Country Estates area.
July 2005LightningRamona-Lightning ignited 3 fires on Orosco Ridge in the Ramona area. The fires burned 20 acres.
October 2004Flash FloodRamona-Heavy rain caused Klondike Creek to overflow across a 25-30 ft section of Wildcat Canyon Road near San Diego Country Estates.
September 2005Funnel CloudRamona-no account filed
February 2004Flash FloodRamona-no account filed
August 2003WildfireRamona-no account filed
May 2002WildfireRamona-no account filed
October 2001WildfireRamona-no account filed
July 2001WildfireRamona-no account filed
August 1998WildfireRamona-no account filed

Every storm recorded in San Diego County

Maps showing this location

13 surveys

United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.

Listed places nearby

4 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Montecito Ranch House4.0 miles2017
Ramona Main Street Colonnade4.6 miles2018
Ramona Town Hall5.7 miles1994
Theophile Verlaque House5.8 miles1991

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 78000749 in Record Group 79.
San Diego CountyAll 148 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.