Atkinson Brothers Toll House

1870 - 1990's
Mussey Grade Road, Ramona, California

Only the foundation is currently left from the toll house which was first named Big Oak Valley and which was one of the first homes built with milled lumber. The Atkinson brothers built this toll house where a fee could be paid to use the toll road, a route which shortened the trip between San Diego and Julian by several miles. The toll house had one large room where a restaurant of sorts was open to travelers. The toll house was sold to San Diego County for seventeen hundred dollars in 1874. In the 1920's, the toll house had a self serve fruit and vegetable stand. The toll house was taken down in the 1990's, but its presence remains in its foundation, trees and surrounding landscape.

This photo shows the location of the toll house foundation today.