The notoriety surrounding the event gave Valley Center its original name of Bear Valley. Although the area had been settled in 1845 and homesteaded in 1862 after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act of 1862, it had no formal name until the famous 1866 bear incident. In 1866, a grizzly weighing 2,200 pounds was killed at the Lovette house, which has now been demolished. Valley Center was the site of the capture of the largest California Grizzly Bear in history. The population was 9,277 at the 2010 census. Valley Center is a census-designated place (CDP) in northern San Diego County, California.
