"Dr. Harvey Urban, Jack Donnelley, and George Dew went to buy twenty acres at the junction of what is now Harmony Grave and Elfin Forest Roads in 1959. They built a house and a dam to create a lake and began adding spaces for trailers, campers, and mobile homes. Additional land (for a total of 97 acres) was purchased and a grocery store was opened. It was referred to as the Elfin Forest Vacation Ranch. They provided boating, fishing, movies, and square dancing. When Dr. Urban opened those acres up to public camping, the campground and the valley around it became popularly known as Elfin Forest. ""In 1978, there were heavy rains in San Diego County. The Elfin Forest/Harmony Grove areas were severely impacted as torrents of water rushed down Escondido Creek causing a "40 year flood." The beautiful lake in the Vacation Ranch was swept away, the basin around it was severely flooded and the Ranch was devastated. Dr. Urban, who had plans to develop it into exclusive mobile home estates passed away shortly afterwards, and his family was forced to sell the acreage."~
http://www.efhgtc.org/History.htm
