1769
Father Junípero Serra establishes Mission San Diego de Alcalá, the first Spanish mission for Native Americans in California and the first officially incorporated settlement in the state.
1776
The United States of America, of which California would eventually become a part, declares independence from Great Britain.
1789
An area called Rancho San Bernardo is given as a royal land grant to José Francisco Snook (formerly Joseph Sevenoaks), an English sea captain who became a citizen of the Spanish colonial territory.
1821
Mexico declares independence from Spain, thus taking California away from the control of the Spanish crown.
1848
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends the Mexican-American War and cedes most of what was then Mexico’s northern portion, including California, to the United States as territorial lands.
1850
California becomes promoted to official U.S. statehood status; shortly after this occurs, the missions become secularized, ranchos all over the state fall into decline, and californios (well-to-do Californians of Spanish descent) lose much of their economic and political power.
1872
The small town of Bernardo is established from what had remained of Rancho San Bernardo.
1918
Bernardo goes into decline, and a couple years later, is considered abandoned, at which point local landowner George Daley purchases the land and adds it to his namesake ranch.
1961
Two of George Daley’s sons, Donald and Lawrence Daley, present a proposal to the city of San Diego for a new community to be built on the land encompassing the former town of Bernardo; the two subsequently decide to sell this land to the city.
1962
1) W. R. Hawn and Harry L. Summers of the La Jolla-based development firm Hawn, Summers and Associates help develop Rancho Bernardo, using a master plan drawn up by Charles Luckman and Associates of Los Angeles. Summers would go on to become president of Rancho Bernardo, Inc.
2) A sales office gets set up at the intersection of Rancho Bernardo and Pomerado Roads, and construction on the first homes begins in July.
1963
1) The first residents of the modern Rancho Bernardo move into their homes, with the very first couple being a Mr. and Mrs. William Lee Burnside, who moved locally from La Jolla and also owned a second home in Parker, Arizona. Although Rancho Bernardo is part of the city of San Diego, children of residents still have to go east into Poway to attend school.
2) The Seven Oaks Community Center opens to residents of the Seven Oaks development.
1964
1) The first shopping center in Rancho Bernardo, the Pomerado Shopping Village, is constructed at the intersection of Rancho Bernardo and Pomerado Roads, between the Seven Oaks and Bernardo Hills developments. Anchoring this center is a Safeway grocery store.
2) The Rancho Bernardo Community Church is established and holds its first worship sessions at the Seven Oaks Community Center, officiated by the Reverend J. Earl Cavanaugh, vicar of St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal church in Poway.
1966
1) The Rancho Bernardo Community Church decides on a denominational orientation, becoming Rancho Bernardo Community Church, Presbyterian, and constructs its own sanctuary slightly further up Rancho Bernardo Road from the Pomerado Shopping Village.
2) The first major revision to the Rancho Bernardo master plan is presented to the San Diego City Council.
3) The local firm of McCorquodale Brothers builds the first custom home in Rancho Bernardo.
1967
Rancho Bernardo Community Church, Presbyterian, starts a preschool program – an unusual feature at the time for a retirement-oriented community.
1968
The New York-based conglomerate AVCO (originally called the Aviation Corporation) acquires a 51 percent controlling interest in Rancho Bernardo, Inc., and renames it AVCO Community Developers, Inc. (ACDI).
1971
1) The second revision to Rancho Bernardo’s master plan goes before the San Diego City Council.
2) ACDI relocates its operational headquarters from Rancho Bernardo to La Jolla.
3) Rancho Bernardo opens its first public school, Westwood Elementary.
1974
1) Rancho Bernardo’s master plan undergoes its third revision.
2) The Rancho Bernardo Town Center is constructed, and it includes a second, larger grocery store (Vons).
1978
The Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian Church (RBCPC) receives its first major renovation, including a new sanctuary design.
1982
AVCO (still the parent company of ACDI) decides to sell off most of their holdings in Rancho Bernardo; one of the buyers, Genstar, who also purchased land in the neighboring San Diego community of Rancho Peñasquitos, is another merchant builder based in Canada.
1984
AVCO completely ends their involvement in Rancho Bernardo; the individual homeowners’ associations now have complete control over the covenants, conditions, and restrictions, or CC&Rs.
2002
The RBCPC receives its second major renovation, attaining its current form.
2007
The Witch Creek wildfire, which started near Santa Ysabel, forces a complete evacuation of Rancho Bernardo; various homes in several developments are destroyed.