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On Memory's Back Trail
The Ramona Well Field Park
By Darrell Beck
 | | Little league baseball team at Ramona well field park in 1967.
Photo courtesy of Darrell Beck |
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In 1926, Ramona citizens approved a $91,000 bond measure by a vote of 96-2 to form the Ramona Irrigation District (RID) and purchase 160 acres of river-bottom land between the Seventh Street Bridge and Ash Street that would become Ramona's well field water supply.
Here, the new water district would put down wells, build reservoirs and pipelines to produce and distribute water to central Ramona. However, by the early 1950s Ramona was growing and so was the need for more water than that well field could produce.
By 1957, Ramona had joined the Metropolitan Water Authority, formed the Ramona Municipal Water District (RMWD) and began importing water for the first time. Shortly thereafter, the old RID well field was taken over by the RMWD.
In about 1966, a group of civic-minded citizens gained permission from the RMWD to build several Little League baseball fields on the south side of the creek near the Seventh Street Bridge, and that was the beginning of Ramona's well field park.
In 1970, the Ramona Chamber of Commerce sponsored the first Country Fair Days and Fred Grand was appointed chairman. By 1972, Grand was seeking a permanent fairgrounds location and successfully secured a site on the RMWD well field. Those efforts soon led to the incorporation of the Ramona Outdoor Community Center (ROCC) to be the lead organization that would operate the park.
By 1975, the ROCC obtained a lease from the RMWD on a larger site, plans were made to erect a second arena and a committee was formed to seek additional funding that would eventually be administered by the RMWD through a Joint Powers Authority (JPA). After local voters had authorized a modest tax to pay for further improvements, California voters in 1978 approved the Howard Jarvis Proposition 13, which put park funding in the red. Following this setback, the flood of 1979-1980 damaged the original fairgrounds and arena. As a result, James Laughlin, RMWD general manager, successfully negotiated for some California Disaster funding grants, allowing ROCC volunteers to build improved fields and erect two steel buildings.
Today, the popular outdoor lighted park provides a rodeo arena with new aluminum bleachers, fairgrounds, a covered picnic area, a kitchen, five baseball fields, three soccer fields, four adult softball diamonds, several restrooms, a snack bar, a community center, junior fair grounds and equestrian facilities.
The RMWD, which owns the property, leases the operations to the Ramona Parks and Recreation Association (RPRA) Inc. that was organized in 1994 to oversee park operations. RPRA then subleases to the various organizations including Ramona Adult Softball, Ramona Girls Softball, Ramona Junior Fair, Ramona Outdoor Community Center, Ramona Pop Warner, Ramona Soccer League, Ramona Senior Center, Ramona Sports Association and Ramona Trails Association. Each group sponsors various fundraisers to pay for rent, improvements, maintenance and insurance for its respective leases.
Through the years, many dedicated citizens have helped build, expand and maintain the park as a place to give our youth a sense of responsibility and help bring families and the community together. The well field park is an example of the volunteer spirit of Ramona and of leaders who recognize a need and opportunity to act together toward a community benefit.
Darrell Beck is the author of "On Memory's Back Trail: A Story History of Ramona and the Backcountry of San Diego County." For information about the book, contact the author at 760-789-2534.
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