Beginning in 1769, the Kumeyaay of La Mesa and the larger San Diego County region were enslaved by Spanish colonists or later forcibly relocated to reservations.

[9] La Mesa was part of a larger tract, Mission San Diego de Alcalá, and was used by Spanish missionaries.

[10] Through the years, the Spanish, Mexican, and American settlers valued La Mesa for its natural springs.

In 1868, stockman Robert Allison moved to the area and purchased 4,000 acres of land from the heirs of Santiago Arguello, commandant of the Presidio of San Diego.

[1] In 2020, La Mesa was the site of civil unrest in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

[14] Two days after Floyd's murder, an unarmed black man was grabbed and shoved by a white La Mesa Police officer and arrested at Grossmont Transit Center.

[17][18] The officer in the trolley station incident was charged with falsifying a police report in connection with the reason for the arrest but acquitted in December 2021.

[19][20] La Mesa is bordered by the city of San Diego on the west and north, Spring Valley and Lemon Grove on the south, and El Cajon on the east.

Because of this, La Mesa typically experiences more extreme temperatures than San Diego, most of which lies closer to the Pacific Ocean.

La Mesa typically has hot, dry summers and warm winters with most of the annual precipitation falling between November and March.

The climate in the San Diego area, like much of California, often varies significantly over short geographical distances, resulting in micro-climates.

In San Diego's case, this is mainly due to the city's topography (the Bay, and the numerous hills, mountains, and canyons).

He often used local mentions in the title of his works such as Bonita of El Cajon, Mystical Maid of Jamacha Pass, The Bandit of Point Loma, The Land Baron of San-Tee, and The Winning of La Mesa.

[28] On June 14, 1997, with the help of Councilmember Ruth Sterling, the City of La Mesa inaugurated its First Annual Flag Day Parade.

The vision for a place to recognize La Mesa's extraordinary volunteers was provided by Councilmember Ruth Sterling.

“Walkway of the Stars” is located between the Allison Avenue municipal parking lot and La Mesa Boulevard.

The concerts began in 2002 after being conceived by then-city councilman Mark Arapostathis and assistant city manager Yvonne Garrett along with members of the community.

They are organized by the La Mesa Arts Alliance and sponsored by the Boys & Girls Clubs of East County Foundation.

[38] The original offices of The San Diego Door, a popular underground newspaper of the 1960s, were located in La Mesa at 7053 University Avenue.

La Mesa is a general law city which uses a council-manager system of government with a directly elected mayor.