Book excerpt: Cardiff-by-the-Sea is a beautiful Southern California coastal town nestled between the San Elijo Lagoon to the south and rolling hills to the east. Known simply by locals as Cardiff, it was named by Esther M. Cullen, who arrived from Boston in 1910 with her husband, J. Frank Cullen, a man determined to transform the swampy expanse of fertile farmland into a coastal playground and town. During the 1920s, the town evolved quickly into a bustling community with a school district, post office, train station, and water irrigation district. The independent character of today's residents can be gleaned throughout the history of the area, from Cullen's determination to build a town in a region thought to be unsuitable for inhabitation, to the citizens' battle in the 1980s to retain autonomy as the town was incorporated into a larger city. Today Cardiff-by-the-Sea is one of five communities comprising the city of Encinitas and is proud of the small-town atmosphere first cultivated by the pioneering spirit of its early settlers.