About Us
Welcome! The Bonita Museum & Cultural Center houses the Bonita Historical Society and over 2,000 objects connected to our region. It is the largest museum in South Bay San Diego dedicated to documenting the art, history and culture of the Sweetwater Valley. The nonprofit museum provides a thriving cultural center for local residents through a rotating selection of fine art sculpture, painting, photography, architecture, design and media arts, housed in two interior galleries and an outdoor area. The museum has sound baffles, providing for optimal sound for exhibitions and performances. We hope you visit often!
Barbara Scott’s Memories and History of the Bonita Museum
The Urbanization of the Sweetwater Valley: San Diego County by Eugene Victor Coleman
Our Mission
The Bonita Historical Society is dedicated to preserving, for public education and enjoyment, the culture, history, arts, crafts, and aesthetic facets of the region, specifically El Rancho de la Nación in South San Diego County.
The museum is located in Rancho de la Nación, which was a 26,632-acre (107.78 km2) Mexican land grant in southern San Diego County, California, given in 1845 by Governor Pío Pico to John (Don Juan) Forster. The grant encompassed present day National City, Chula Vista, Bonita, Sunnyside and the western Sweetwater Valley. Known as Rancho del Rey (Ranch of the King) under Spain, this land south of the Presidio of San Diego served since 1795 as a presidial cattle grazing ground. The ranch was renamed Rancho de la Nación (Ranch of the Nation) by Mexican authorities. In 1845, this six-square-league land grant was made by Governor Pico to his brother-in-law, John Forster. John Forster (1815–1882), born in England, came to California in 1833. In 1837, he married Ysidora Pico, sister of Pío and Andrés Pico. John Forster was later the owner of the Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores, and Rancho Valle de San Felipe. The museum houses a collection of brands and maps of the Mexican Land Grant period of California history.
Bonita and Bonitafest History from historian Steven Schoenherr
Staff
Wendy Wilson
Museum Director
Our Director
San Diego County native Wendy Wilson became the director in 2018. Under her leadership, BMCC has enjoyed a period of unprecedented growth in its civic engagement, initiating art, history and culture partnerships with artists, authors,collectors, and cultural institutions. During this period the museum has received funding to modernize its collections department as well as create new permanent history exhibitions. The nonprofit has increased and strengthened its staff to support education and innovative programming.
Sarah moved to Bonita as a high school student in 1995 and graduated from Bonita Vista High School in 1997. She has lived in nearby Lemon Grove for 20 years, and is married with five children. In 2020 she joined the Lemon Grove Historical Society board and wanted to organize their archives, which interested her in returning to school. Sarah received a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science from San Jose State University. She is finishing up an internship at the San Diego County Clerk Recorder Archives in Santee, and last summer, spend two months in Sarasota Florida interning at the Ringling circus archive. We are excited to have Sarah at the museum part-time starting in January of 2025. If you are interested in Bonita history research, you can schedule appointments with Sarah through her email.
Indigenous Cultures Educator at the museum and School Tour coordinator
Heather Gallana
Proud Blackfeet & Gro Ventre descendent
USMC veteran
Additional Staff and Docents:
Maricruz Alvarado – Dia de los Muertos
Elizabeth Stonehouse – Historian
Beatriz Esparragoza – Archivist (2019-2020)
Miguel Murillo – Archivist (2020-2022 )
Tom Pocklington – Veterans Memorial
Linda Allen – Docent, Education
Mary Jane Pye – Hospitality
Glennalie Coleman – Hospitality
Carolynn Gibbs – Hospitality
Liz Usborne – Photography
Daryl Hern – Docent, Education
Anna E. Siqueiros – Cultural Liaison, Murals
Kat Brydon – Docent
Consuelo Gloria – Docent, History
Research in the museum