Programs
We have offered multiple programs and services since 1956. Offering educational opportunities to the community is an integral part of our mission.
The Escondido History Center Legends Scholarship Program honors eight legendary persons in Escondido’s history by awarding honorariums of $1,000 each to senior students attending high schools in Escondido.
Each honorarium is awarded for participating in a variety of school activities and demonstrating leadership qualities while attending high school. Volunteerism in the community is also highly important. Students may apply for one or more honorariums. For more information, click here.
The Escondido History Center invites the public to visit our Office and Research Center during business hours to learn more about Escondido's fascinating history from the books, directories, photographs, and documents there.
​
Trained and knowledgeable docents are available to guide visitors through our buildings during the hours that they are open.
​
Visitors are welcome to watch working blacksmiths create decorative and functional items, just as they have for centuries past, at the Bandy Blacksmith Shop on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
​
Approximately 1500 historic photographs can be found on this website and more historic information will be found on this website soon.
​
The nearby Old Escondido Historic District Is the city's first neighborhood and features numerous homes with interesting architecture and histories. Maps can be downloaded online or printed versions are available at the History Center office for self-guided tours.
​
We are pleased to offer tours of the museum complex to visiting schoolchildren on field trips.
​
Interpretive signs at each of our museum buildings explain their history and purpose when we're not on hand to do so.
​
We have begun hosting the Grape Day Festival after a brief hiatus.
​
Membership includes a quarterly newsletter that features articles about Escondido's fascinating history.
​
Our Annual Adobe Home Tour provides an opportunity for seeing the interiors of local adobe homes.
​
We look forward to developing lesson plans for schoolteachers and homeschooling parents in the near future.


Current Exhibits
​
-
Railroad Depot Office and Waiting Room in Santa Fe Depot
-
H-O model train in Pullman Train Car is closed for the repairs
-
Blacksmithing and Wheelwright activity in the Bandy Blacksmith Shop on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
-
The Victorian House is temporarily closed for repairs
-
The Main Office and Research Center features displays, photographs, and resources for research