The property of Rancho Tía Juana was bounded on the south by the 11 league Rancho El Rosario, granted by José María de Echeandía in 1827 to Don José Manuel Machado, one of the first soldiers stationed at the Presidio of San Diego.[2]
The original ranch house was located just south of the Mexican Border near where current border crossing is today.[1]
The name Tijuan derived from the name of a native Kumeyaay settlement in the vicinity.