This place called Encinitas sits on the coastline of the Pacific Ocean and is embraced by the Batiquitos Lagoon to the north and the San Elijo Lagoon to the south.  The first inhabitants were Indians called the San Dieguitos, the La Jollans, and the Dieguenos.   It was the Diegueno's group who were mission converts and helped to build the Spanish Missions.  In 1669, the Governor of Baja California, Gaspar de Portola, led an expedition throughout the San Diego and Monterey areas.  His mission was to build several "presidios," establishing a teaching base for schools and religion.  When the expedition made its way through Encinitas on the El Camino Real, he named the area for the small oak trees on the surrounding hills.  He named this area "Encina Canada," Spanish for "Hills of Live Oaks."  The area changed governmental hands from Spain to Mexico and in the 1800-s the Mexican government issued land grants to ranchers who would establish settlements in the San Diego area and who were willing to be under Mexico's rule.

In 1881, Jabez Pitcher settled in Encinitas and is considered to be the father of the town.  Pitcher came to San Diego and filed a claim for 160 acres on a mesa near the railroad tracks where the Encinitas Civic Center is now located.  In 1870, a few miles north of the railroad tracks, English spiritualists named their settlement Leucadia after one of the Greek Isles.  The name means "Isle of Paradise" or "Place of Shelter."  The five-acre tracts were named after Greek gods and mythical figures.

The modern history of "Cardiff" began in 1875 when the McKinnon family homesteaded on the north shore of the San Elijo Lagoon.  In 1909, J. Frank Cullen bought a large tract in San Elijo, had it surveyed, and established streets and lots.  He named his town in 1914, calling it "Cardiff-by-the-Sea," after Cardiff, Wales.   The "Olivenhain" portion of Encinitas was established as a community in 1884 by a small group of German immigrants.  The old Olivenhain Meeting Hall is still used today for social events and meetings.

The City of Encinitas is now made up of five communities that take pride in their own distinct personalities.  "Historic Encinitas" fills the Highway 101 Corridor that parallels the beautiful beaches and ocean.  "New Encinitas" centers on El Camino Real ("The Kings Highway" founded by the early missionaries from Spain).  "Cardiff-by-the-Sea" is made up of quaint homes dotting the hillsides overlooking the sea.  "Leucadia" is famous for its giant eucalyptus trees that line the main thoroughfare on the Coast Highway.  "Olivenhain" (which means "olive grove" in German) boasts plenty of open horse country, pastures, and a rural way of life.