Escondido Historical Landmark:
Felicita Park
Felicita Park is a historical landmark located in Escondido. Many
years
ago it was the home of the Kumeyaay Indians. They lived in the oak
forests and near creeks
which can still be seen today. The Indians used to grind
acorns with rocks called metate. The acorns were their source of
food. They drew interesting paintings on the stones near Lake Hodges.
Many people go to the park to explore it or just to have fun and have a
picnic. If you walk down to the oak trees you can see many grinding rocks
that have little pot holes in them. The rocks would wear down and get
shaped
like a hole. The grinding holes that were used with the acorns can still
be
seen today. The women used a two handed pestle-stone to pound the acorns.
Deer, rabbit, and many other small animals were hunted and eaten by the
tribe. The women didn't do any of the hunting, it was just the men and
boys.
In the park today there is a small museum
that contains most of the history from the park such as: grinding stones,
baskets, rabbit hats, bow and arrows and many more things that the
Indians used.
Each student in Mrs. Berhman's class wrote about each trip.
Here are two students' views.
Kumeyaay
Bradley DeGussemee
11-21-96
Today we went to Felicita Park to see how the Kumeyaay Indians lived.
Their food consisted of acorns. They crushed the acorns on a big rock,
then took a basket and put them through water, because there is dioxide
in acorns.
Then they chip this certain rock, called obsidian, to make an arrowhead.
In summer they wore bark, and plants. In winter they wore animal skins.
They had seasonings for food. There were seeds and leaves, which they
used
for medicine. They made this kind of rock pottery, which was made out of
clay. They had a stick called the rabbit stick. They killed rabbits by
throwing
this stick at the rabbit's neck and legs.
Felicita Park
Ayla Sessions
11-21-96
Today my class went to Felicita Park. We all learned lots of stuff.
This
is some of the stuff I learned. First I learned the Kumeyaay Indians made
arrow
heads out of quartz. I found the quartz on the trail. Then I learned that
the Kumeyaay made pottery out of dirt and clay. I think it would be fun
to make a pot. To shape the pottery they had to use rocks. They also had
to wear clothes just like us. The women had a skirt made out of plants.
The boys wore the other clothes. Another thing I learned is that rock is
their main tool.
L.R. Green School's Escondido Historical Landmarks
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