John Rojas Jr. (January 6, 1930 – January 22, 2000) was a

Chula Vista, California Chula Vista (; ) is the second-largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the seventh largest city in Southern California, the fifteenth largest city in the state of California, and the 78th-largest city in the United States. The popul ...

resident who collected and disseminated information about the history of Chula Vista and its foliage. In 1981 he founded the Chula Vista Historical Society which later merged with the Chula Vista Heritage Museum. He wrote a series of books about Chula Vista.

Arrival in Chula Vista

John Rojas moved to

Chula Vista Chula Vista (; ) is the second-largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the seventh largest city in Southern California, the fifteenth largest city in the state of California, and the 78th-largest city in the United States. The popu ...

, in 1960 while working as a petty officer in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. Chula Vista is a suburb of

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

. Rojas began to study the local history. Rojas retired from the navy in 1972 and began his second career as a

U.S. Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

worker until 1992. He became familiar with the streets of Chula Vista as a postman. He spent his spare time taking pictures of the homes, meeting people and studying the vegetation and trees in the area.

Founding of Chula Vista Historical Society

In 1981, Rojas founded the Chula Vista Historical Society, which later merged with th
Chula Vista Heritage Museum
In 1999, shortly before Rojas' death, the Chula Vista Library Board of Trustees, in recognition of the impact John Rojas had in preserving the history of Chula Vista, presented a resolution creating the
John Rojas Local History Room
at the Civic Center branch of the library, in order to preserve and makes available materials about the area's historic heritage.

Publications

*"Trees of Chula Vista" *"Chula Vista - Early Years" volumes 1-7 * Editor, "Chula Vista Historical Society Bulletin" (1981 to 1991). *Chula Vista Public Art *co-author "Historic Chula Vista: Historic Homes and Other Historic Sites" *co-author "Historic Homes of Chula Vista."

External links

Chula Vista History!: John Rojas Jr.

References

*Muñoz, Danie

La Prensa San Diego (September 17, 1999)

La Prensa San Diego (September 17, 1999) *Chula Vista Public Librar
John Rojas Room
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rojas, John Jr. 2000 deaths 1930 births Writers from San Diego History of San Diego People from Chula Vista, California