No. 11 - Engebretson-Stafford House

640 Fifth Avenue

Although the Chula Vista Booklet of Historical Sites states that this house was built in 1913, tax assessment rolls indicate that it was probably constructed around 1911. Hagan Engebretson, an orchardist, owned the property at that time and lived in what was then a one-story house.

Fred and Hazel Stafford purchased the house in 1920 and added the second story. Stafford was a civil engineer who had served overseas as an officer in the U.S. Army during World War I. In Chula Vista, he was an orchardist and a celery and bulb grower who directed several trophy-winning exhibits at the San Diego County fair.

This orchard house is the last vestige of the Stafford estate. It retains integrity of design and materials from its 1920 incarnation.