The pioneer Gaskill brothers built a frame store in 1868 that was raided by border bandits on December 4, 1875. A fort-like replacement was built in the summer of 1885. It was bought in 1896 by E.T. Aiken, resold to Klauber Wangenheim in 1889, and operated by Henry Marcus Johnson as the Mountain Commercial Company until 1925. After falling into disrepair, it was bought after 1938 by E.M. Statler, given to San Diego County, and restored as a museum from 1943 to 1948.