Before El Cajon became a city, it was a rural valley crossed by travelers heading to the mountains — and one early resident saw an opportunity to give them a place to eat, rest and spend the night.
The Knox House Museum preserves the story of that era, when Amaziah Knox built what became the valley’s first commercial building and helped create the community that grew around it.
The building’s history dates to 1876, when Knox purchased land in the valley and built the Knox Hotel along a well-traveled route into the mountains. Travelers heading through the area before the hotel opened often stopped near what would become the corner of Magnolia and Main Street, where they slept outdoors…