In 1830, John Forster left his home in Liverpool, England to work for his uncle, James (Santiago) Johnson, in Guaymas, Mexico.

[4] In 1844 Forster and James McKinley purchased the 44 acres (0.2 km2) and the buildings of the former Mission San Juan Capistrano at public auction for $710.00.

Frémont would have been less favorably disposed had he anticipated that four days later Forster would begin to plan the escape to Mexico of another brother-in-law, Governor Pio Pico.

Typical of the residents of sparsely populated southern California, Forster opposed statehood but would support territorial status.

Forster surrendered possession of Rancho de la Nación, the lands of which embrace all of National City and Chula Vista, in 1856.

In 1864, Forster purchased Pio Pico's 133,000-acre (540 km2) Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores y San Onofre, which included Andrés’ prior interest.

In the early 1870s Forster sent his agent, Max von Strobel, to Europe to advertise the colonization potential of the Rancho Santa Margarita, patterned upon the Anaheim colony.

Forster traveled on to the Netherlands, where he sought to recruit settlers for the ranch by offering household heads 160 acres (0.6 km2) of land, five cows, two horses and sundry supplies, with rent forestalled for the first two or three years.

Forster returned to California in July 1873, unsuccessful in selling Santa Catalina Island but still hopeful for the colonization of the ranch.

In 1880, the California Southern Railroad, in close cooperation with the Santa Fe, began laying a line from National City to San Bernardino, which would be an eventual link with the Topeka road.

[9] Fencing 212,000 acres (858 km2) drained his capital, droughts destroyed his cattle, and futile efforts to attract settlers dried up his last remaining credit.