A while back my wife and I vacationed in San Diego. I learned a lot of new things in Old Town. That is a state park where many buildings have been renovated to reflect life as it was from 1810 through 1870.
I read a delightful, short history of Old Town titled San Diego’s Beginnings.
One of many fascinating things is the long list of outside pressures that forced massive change on the residents of Old Town.
The Spanish Roman Catholic mission community was the dominant player until revolution in Mexico City meant the mission land went to the government and was redistributed. That created a new group of landowners.
War with the U.S. brought a new legal system which made it too expensive to defend the old way of titling land, which means the land shifted to new ownership. That created another new group of landowners.
Arrival of the gold rush created boom times. Departure of the gold rush created hard times.
Storms, floods, earthquake, and a smallpox epidemic hurt the town.
Alonzo Horton developing New Town right on the harbor which pulled economic development away from Old Town which was several miles inland.
Old Town saw massive change from political turmoil (revolution overthrowing Spanish rule, then war overthrowing Mexican rule), creative destruction (new community right on the harbor that had tremendous competitive advantage, arrival & end of the gold rush), and plain ol’ destruction (floods, earthquake, smallpox).
Old Town adapted to many of the changes, but eventually the changes overwhelmed the community and it crumbled like the adobe buildings.