Atkinson Brothers Toll House
1870 - 1990's
Mussey Grade Road, Ramona, California
Only the foundation is currently left from the toll house which was first named Big Oak
Valley and which was one of the first homes built with milled lumber. The Atkinson brothers
built this toll house where a fee could be paid to use the toll road, a route which shortened
the trip between San Diego and Julian by several miles. The toll house had one large room
where a restaurant of sorts was open to travelers. The toll house was sold to San Diego
County for seventeen hundred dollars in 1874. In the 1920's, the toll house had a self serve
fruit and vegetable stand. The toll house was taken down in the 1990's, but its presence
remains in its foundation, trees and surrounding landscape.
This photo shows the location of the toll house foundation today.
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