Evidence of the presence of Paleo-Indians in the region has been dated as early as 2,000 B.C. By 1,000 B.C., a group emerged that is recognizable as the Yumanancestors of the Kumeyaay, who continued to inhabit the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula at the time of European contact.The Kumeyaay referred to the area now known as Rosarito Beach as Wa-cuatay, which translates to "big houses" in the Kumeyaay language.
European arrival and missions
After conquering the Aztec Empire, Hern�n Cort�s sent expeditions to explore what he believed to be the Island of California. In 1533, mutineer Fort�n Xim�nez was the first European to land in Baja California, at La Paz, Baja California Sur. In September 1542, Juan Rodr�guez Cabrillo passed through the Rosarito Beach area on his way from Ensenada to San Diego Bay. 1697 saw the establishment of the first permanent European settlement in Baja California in a Jesuit mission at Loreto. Rosarito would soon be caught in a power struggle between Jesuits, Dominicans, and Franciscan monks for decades.
In 1773, a frontier was defined separating Nueva ("new") or Alta ("upper") California, under the jurisdiction of the Franciscans, from Antigua ("old") or Baja ("lower") California, which was entrusted to the Dominicans. In 1788, Luis de Sales, a Dominican priest, redrew the boundary, extending Baja California to the RosaritoArroyo, known at the time as the Barrabas Arroyo. In 1817, Dominican missionary Tom�s de Ahumada founded the Misi�n San Miguel la Nueva among the Kumeyaay people 22 kilometers to the south of the present-day Rosarito Beach.
Ranching era
The property of El Rosarito Ranch, granted to Don Jos� Manuel Machado on 1825, was the first ranch in the modern-day Rosarito region. Subsequently his son, Don Joaqu�n Machado, applied for title to the land toPresident Porfirio D�az. On May 14, 1885, Machado received his title and registered it in Ensenada, then the capital
