A visitor from the past would likely be surprised by all the names of new communities in San Diego County. Likewise, many of today’s residents, if looking at an old map or directory, might be puzzled over community names they do not recognize.

Rancho Bernardo resident and local historian Vincent Nicholas Rossi has looked into three of those “lost towns” that have ties to the present-day communities of Rancho Bernardo and Poway.

“Once Upon A Town: Bernardo, Merton and Stowe” is a 55-page book that features recollections of the area’s early residents, along with photos, newspaper clippings and hand-drawn maps detailing what life was like in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Rossi said his latest historical endeavor began with his previous book, “The Lost Town of Bernardo,” published in 2013, about the community just north of Rancho Bernardo in existence from 1872 to 1919. Further research was sparked by work Rossi said he did for his blog at SanDiegoHistorySeeker.com.

While Rossi has had a decades-long interest in history, his quest to learn more about San Diego County was spurred by history columns he wrote for The San Diego Union-Tribune from 2004-08 as a freelance writer.

“I had a chance to go around to historical societies throughout the county and learn about these things,” he said.

During that research, Rossi often consulted city and county directories — think of them as the predecessor to the phone book — which listed all the communities in the county. While recognizing many familiar names, such as Poway, Ramona, El Cajon, Escondido and Fallbrook, there were also many Rossi said he never heard of before. For example, Almond, Bostonia, Flowingwell, Hedges, Ogilby and Sunnyside (these were listed in a 1903 San Diego County directory).

Most were listed because they had a post office, which might have been established in someone’s home or a general store. “That is how Bernardo started,” he said.

Bernardo included the Sikes residence, which has been preserved and dubbed the Sikes Adobe Historic Farmstead, part of San Dieguito River Park. Zenas Sikes opened the Bernardo post office in December 1872 at his home. Merton was where downtown Poway is now, with the Merton post office established in 1890 near what is now the intersection of Poway and Pomerado roads, Rossi said. Meanwhile, Stowe, also in existence by 1890, incorporated a large area that now features the Sycamore Canyon Preserve and Gooden Ranch, and reached out to Lakeside and El Cajon.

As for Poway, it was not incorporated until 1980, but was often identified as “Poway Valley” on maps, he said.

There were many reasons for the rise and decline of these early communities throughout the county. Sometimes it was the availability — or lack thereof — of water that drew people to settle or just as quickly move on. Other times it was the lure of an impending railroad that they speculated would make an area prosperous. A factor with Bernardo’s fate was the growth of Escondido, caused by a business and population boom after residents there decided to incorporate their community, Rossi said.

While much of what Rossi featured in his latest book has been mentioned in other local history books by himself and others, he said there are some new accounts mixed in as well due to oral or written histories recorded at local historical societies in the years since those earlier books were written. For example, he said “Once Upon a Town” includes information from the journals of Andy Kirkham, who founded the Poway Historical and Memorial Society.

Many of the names he has come across in his research appear today as Poway street names. Family names include Danielson and Kirkham, while Stowe is remembered with Stowe Drive.

The Rancho Bernardo resident since 2002 is a New Jersey native who prior to coming here lived in the Bay Area. While largely a self-taught historian and researcher, he was certified as a history teacher in New Jersey, where he taught in the early- to mid-1970s. He and his wife, Peggy, have a genealogy business and are members of the Rancho Bernardo Historical Society.

“Once Upon A Town” can be purchased at the Rancho Bernardo History Museum, the Poway Historical and Memorial Society Museum or at sandiegohistoryseeker.com/my-books. It can also be purchased via check or money order for $15 if sent to StorySeekers, P.O. Box 27343, San Diego, CA 92198-1343.

