to
Update
is a seaside resort-town in the North County section of San Diego County, California. According to the state Department of Finance, the city had a total population of 90,271 in 2003 (note that the website city-data.com reports the population as 95,439 as of July 2007). Carlsbad was incorporated in 1952, in large part to generate sufficient funding to connect with the water pipeline running through San Diego County, but also to avoid being annexed by Oceanside. It is one of the most expensive coastal cities in North County, San Diego, and one of the highest-income places in the country.
The city has drafted ordinances protecting sensitive wildlife habitat, one of the first such ordinances within the State of California. The city has also promised to protect a certain amount of land within city limits from development of any kind, along with spending significant funds to restore habitats destroyed by newer development projects.
Because of its coastal location, scenic beauty, low population density, thriving commercial sector, abundance of upscale housing, and high performing school districts, Carlsbad is known for its high quality of life. Land is also a premium, thus, real estate is rather expensive even for Southern California. The annual Forbes Magazine ranking of the "Most Expensive ZIP Codes" in the U.S. ranked Carlsbad ZIP codes as some of the most expensive in the nation.
Carlsbad's history begins with the Luiseño people who located one of their villages, Palamai, near what is today Agua Hedionda Lagoon. Modern-day Carlsbad came about when in the 1880s a former sea captain named John Frazier dug a well for water. He began offering his water at the train station and soon the whistle-stop became known as Frazier's Station. A test done on a second fresh-water well found the water to be chemically similar to one of the most famous spas in Europe in Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad), Czech Republic.
To take advantage of this find, a partnership named the Carlsbad Land and Mineral Water Company was founded. It was founded by a German-born merchant from the Midwest named Gerhard Schutte, Samuel Church Smith, D.D.Wadsworth and Henry Nelson. The naming of the town followed soon-after along with a major marketing campaign to attract visitors. The area experienced a period of growth, with homes and businesses appearing in the 1880s. Agricultural development of citrus fruits, avocados and olives soon changed the landscape, but Carlsbad is no longer a farming-centered community.
But by the end of 1887, the real estate bubble had burst and land prices slid all throughout San Diego County. The community survived though, due to the agricultural opportunities available. Even today, Carlsbad has a German-American population estimated at 20 percent of residents, among other ethnic and racial groups made the city a diverse one* (According to the United States Census Bureau, the city's ethnic breakdown as of 2000 for zip code 92008 was 84% white, 1% black/African American, 4% Asian, and the balance other ethnicities. Hispanics of any race make up 20% of the population) . The site of John Frazier's original well can still be found at