Museum Honoring Buffalo Soldiers, US Cavalry, and The American Frontier

Location: Campo (51 Miles / 1.25 Hours East of Downtown San Diego)

Hours: 11AM – 5PM on Saturdays and Sundays

Cost: $2 (Free for Kids).

Features: History of Early Life in the American West Frontier, Buffalo Soldiers, and the U.S. Cavalry at Camp Lockett.

Gaskill Brothers’ Stone Store Museum Highlights: This two story stone building explores the history of Campo, CA. The first floor shares the history of the early 1800’s when Campo was a stop along the east-west stage coach trail. Later that century, the Impossible Railroad was built through Campo and along the treacherous terrain that is found on the border with Mexico going from San Diego to Yuma, Arizona. You can also learn more about the history of Campo and the story of the Gaskill Brothers’ from the local Star Ranch web site, which is the oldest continually operating ranch in San Diego County.

The second floor describes the history of nearby Camp Lockett, which hosted the army cavalry and Buffalo Soldiers during World War II. Camp Locket provided a great environment to prepare the Army troops and their horses because they could train in mountainous and desert terrain under a variety of weather conditions. Camp Lockett was the last home of the Buffalo Soldier Calvaries at a time when blacks were still forced to operate in segregated units. Read more from a visit to this museum described by the Buffalo Soldiers Research Museum in Indianapolis.

Campo is a remote location outside of the metropolitan San Diego area. Despite its remote location, you can make a nice day trip to Campo by driving along the scenic SR-94, which is part of the old stage coach trails and curves around the mountains in the area. Once you are in Campo, you can also visit the Motor Transport Museum and the San Diego Railroad Museum. You may even consider visiting the start of the 2,650 mile Pacific Crest Trail, which is also in Campo.

As was mentioned earlier, this area occasionally experiences unusual weather extremes despite its proximity to temperate San Diego. So, take a look at the Mountain Forecast if you are visiting during the winter and the Desert Forecast if you are visiting during the summer to get an idea of what to expect.

Food – Your options are limited in this remote location. The Campo Diner is very close by. You’ll find a few more diners off of the I-8 freeway and along SR-94.

Information on Visiting the Gaskill Brothers’ Stone Store Museum

Admission Prices: (Costs are Approximate)

Parking is Free
Entrance is $2 for Adults and Free for Kids.

Directions from Google Maps to 31123 1/2 SR-94 in Campo, CA 91906. (This address puts you within a couple hundred yards of the Museum. As you head south on SR-94, look for it on your left side a few hundred yards after you cross over the train tracks.) For those visiting from Downtown San Diego and nearby areas, Google Maps will recommend SR-94, which is a two lane country road. You may want to re-route the map (by dragging the blue line) to use highway I-8 instead. Or, you might want to take the SR-94 out to the Museum to enjoy the scenery and curvy roads and take highway I-8 back. Both routes will take about the same amount of time since the distance is a little longer using highway I-8.

Traffic – Weekend travel to Campo is relatively easy whether you use the I-8 or SR-94.

Transit – There are no transit options to get you to the Gaskill Brothers Museum in Campo on weekends.

Related Attraction – You may also be interested in visiting the Museum of San Diego African American History to learn more about the Buffalo Soldiers at Camp Lockett.