John Forster was born in England; became a Mexican citizen of early California, and was one of the largest landowners in California.
Early life
In 1830, John Forster left his home in Liverpool, England to work for his uncle, James Johnson, in Guaymas, Mexico.
Arrival in California
Forster then came overland to California, reaching Los Angeles in 1833. In 1836 he became a Mexican citizen and worked as a shipping agent at San Pedro. In 1837 he married Ysidora Pico, sister of a future Mexican governor of California, Pio Pico. The Mexican government appointed him captain of the port of San Pedro in March 1843.
In the Mexican–American War, Forster, though an Englishman and brother-in-law of both the Californio governor and the commander of the insurgents, determined that the pragmatic thing to do was to offer assistance to the Americans. In 1846, José Antonio Pico and José Antonio Cot acquired the Mission of San Luis Rey. Forster traveled from San Juan Capistrano to take formal title of the property for the new owners. As Forster took occupancy, Frémont and his American force rode into view. Forster fled back to San Juan Capistrano, leaving the property in the hands of the alcalde, Juan María Marrón. Frémont would have been less favorably disposed had he anticipated that four days later Forster would begin to plan the escape to Mexico of another brother-in-law, Governor Pio Pico. For several weeks, Forster hid Pico in the mountains near San Juan Capistrano; then, at an opportune time, Forster outfitted Pico for a dash to the border on September 7, 1846. Governor Pico fled to Mexico, leaving Forster in charge of Pico's Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores.
American rule
The California Gold Rush created a demand for southern California cattle, and Forster profited by supplying that demand. Steers, previously worth only the value of their hides, soon brought $50 and more in San Francisco. Typical of the residents of sparsely populated southern California, Forster opposed statehood but would support territorial status. Forster was selected as one of San Diego County's two delegates to the 1849 convention at Monterey, but on learning that the northern California delegates vastly outnumbered his southern colleagues, he chose not to attend. Northern Californian delegates sought statehood, and in 1850, California secured it. Forster surrendered possession of Rancho de la Nación, the lands of which embrace all of National City and Chula Vista, in 1856. He had been borrowing sums of from $15,000 to $25,000, at three per cent interest, for a number of years. The ranch passed into the possession of a French resident of San Francisco, F. A. L. Pioche, who also acquired Rancho Valle de San Felipe from Forster.
At the beginning of the 1860s, Forster loaned money to his brother-in-law, Pio Pico, who was in financial trouble. In 1862, to thwart collectors, Andrés Pico conveyed all of his land in California, including a half interest in the family's Rancho Santa Margarita to brother Pio Pico. In 1864, Forster purchased Pio Pico's Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores y San Onofre, which included Andrés’ prior interest. The rancho adjoined Forster's own Rancho Mision Vieja y Trabuco; Forster thereafter ruled over a vast empire, the largest single-owner ranch in southern California. Forster moved his family to Santa Margarita y Las Flores in 1864.
Forster City
In the 1860s and 1870s, Forster took the first steps to diversify the productivity and income of the Santa Margarita ranch. plaque placed at the site of former Forster City In the early 1870s Forster sent his agent, Max von Strobel, to Europe to advertise the colonization potential of the Rancho Santa Margarita, patterned upon the Anaheim colony. Strobel also sought buyers for Santa Catalina Island, in which Forster owned a share. But Strobel died in London, and in 1873 Forster sailed to England, returning to Liverpool after a 43-year-absence. Forster traveled on to the Netherlands, where he sought to recruit settlers for the ranch by offering household heads of land, five cows, two horses and sundry supplies, with rent forestalled for the first two or three years. The Dutch government ordered an inspection of Rancho Santa Margarita before it would approve of the plan. Forster returned to California in July 1873, unsuccessful in selling Santa Catalina Island but still hopeful for the colonization of the ranch. The inspectors arrived during the heat of August and were unimpressed. Forster's colonization scheme failed. He then tried to establish the town of Forster City on the north coast of his property. Three families settled there by 1876, and some 35 voters were registered in the village in 1882. The town, however, survived for only a few more years. The potential for railroad development across the Rancho Santa Margarita also captured Forster's imagination. In 1880, the California Southern Railroad, in close cooperation with the Santa Fe, began laying a line from National City to San Bernardino, which would be an eventual fink with the Topeka road. North of Oceanside, the tracks turned east and followed the Santa Margarita River across Forster's ranch. Early in 1882, from his home near the river, he could hear the sounds of track being laid, but did not live to see the line's completion.
Death
John Forster died at his Rancho Santa Margarita on February 20, 1882. Fencing drained his capital, droughts destroyed his cattle, and futile efforts to attract settlers dried up his last remaining credit. His estate was in shambles, and his sons were forced to sell. His family sold the ranch to Irish immigrant James Flood. In 1996, he was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
