Oceanside was first inhabited by the Luiseno Indians who were part of the large Shoshonean tribe. They lived in the San Luis Rey river valley area, originally named, "Rio San Luis Rey de Francia," after St. Louis King of France by the Franciscan friars who passed through the valley in 1769. The Mission San Luis Rey de Francia was established in 1798, four miles up river from the coast. The Indians were instrumental in building the Mission compound as they provided the labor. Mission San Luis Rey was the largest building in California when completed and was the most prosperous of the missions.
A township, known as San Luis Rey, which was west of the Mission, was established in the early 1870's and was largely inhabited by a group of English settlers. By 1884, San Luis Rey had a post office, stores, a hotel and a weekly newspaper.
In 1881 the United States Government conducted a survey of the Southern Pacific slope and in 1882 a railroad was laid from Los Angeles to San Diego through Colton, Temecula, Fallbrook and down the coast.
Andrew Jackson Myers applied for a Homestead Grant on the Oceanside mesa and he was allotted 160 acres in 1883. Cave J. Couts, Jr. surveyed the townsite and John Chauncey Hayes sold the town lots.
