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

Chula Vista, California Chula Vista ( ; , ) is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. It is the second-most populous city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the Largest cities in Southern California, seventh-most populous city in Southern California ...

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 a city in San Diego County, California, United States. It is the second-most populous city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the seventh-most populous city in Southern California, the 15th-most populous city in the ...

, in 1960 while working as a petty officer in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. Chula Vista is a suburb of

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. 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 simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

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