| History of Colton, CA
1775 - THE PIONEERS OF COLTON
The City of Colton was formally founded in 1875 and incorporated in
1887 but its history goes back to the 1770's when several explorers from
Mexico searched routes from Sonora, Mexico to Monterey, bringing the first
Europeans to the Colton area. Prior to this time, the area was inhabited
by the Gua-chama, Seranno and San Gorgonio Indians.
By 1840 Colton was part of two large privately owned ranchos, the Jurupa
and the San Bernardino Ranchos. The southwest section of Colton is referred
to as Agua Mansa (“Gentle Waters”); the area settled by New Mexico Pioneers
in 1842.
The town of Colton was laid out when the Southern Pacific Railway was
constructed through the valley on its way eastward from Los Angeles in
1875. Colton was named for Civil War General David Colton who was also
Vice President of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company.
| 1876 - RESIDENTS
From a photograph taken in 1876, the entire population of the then new
town, except for Mr. and Mrs. Noel Davenport who were away from home at
the time. |
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| 1885 - Cooley Ranch Approximately
For nearly 100 years, Cooley Ranch was also known as Indian Knolls.
The name derived when the Indians in the San Bernardino Valley found refuge
on the knolls of the property during the flood of 1862. Original owner
of the property was George Cooley, born in Kent, England. He came to the
area in 1853 and in 1854 purchased 200 acres at $3.50 per acre along the
Santa Ana River. Mr. Cooley was Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of
San Bernardino County. By 1873, the ranch was 19 years old with 400 acres,
all in Colton. Because of high taxes, the ranch was sold to Villelli Enterprises
of La Habra. It is now the Cooley Ranch and construction began in 1975. |
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| 1887 - Virgil Earp, 1887, first Marshall of Colton
Colton was incorporated July 11, 1887 when 119 of 176 citizens voted
in favor of incorporation. Nicholas P. Earp, father of the “Earp Brothers”owned
the Gem, a saloon, while he was the City Clerk for Colton. Wyatt Earp applied
to City Hall to operate a gambling hall in Colton, but was turned down.
The Nicholas Porter Earp family settled in Colton in 1877; Nicholas was
elected to the position of Recorder in 1887. The same year, Virgil Earp
was elected Colton's first Marshal and lived with his wife Allie in a house
at 528 W. H. Street which still stands today. |
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| 1887 - Morgan Earp Grave - Hermosa Cemetery in Colton. |
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| 1889 - First City Hall
On October 16, 1889, Colton voted $12,000 in bonds for the erection
of a City Hall completed in 1890. The first meeting in City Hall was convened
September 1, 1890.
Through the next century, citrus groves were bought and sold, the railroads
and road systems grew to accommodate the growth, business grew and so did
the city. |
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| 1891 - Colton Library - Built as the Carnegie Library
The building now housing the Colton Museum on La Cadena Drive was originally
a Carnegie Public Library. Andrew Carnegie, founder of Carnegie Steele
Co., initiated a project in 1891 to donate money to towns and cities across
the country for the building of public Libraries. Carnegie distributed
$68,333,973 to build 1,689 public libraries in the united States and 830
in other countries. The Colton Woman's Club initiated the campaign and
Cramer B. Morris, City Attorney, negotiated the $10,000 donation from the
Carnegie foundation to build a library here.
The City Council agreed to set aside $1,000 annually for the building's
maintenance and residents of Colton contributed $4,000 for purchase of
the site. The first 1,100 books were donated by the Woman's Club who held
“Book Showers” to raise money to purchase books. The building was completed
in 1908. Three other Carnegie libraries built in San Bernardino County
were in San Bernardino, Ontario, Upland. Only the buildings in Colton and
Upland are still standing. In addition to housing the library, Club Rooms
in the building's basement were utilized by groups such as the Boy Scouts
and Kiwanis club, chapels for Methodist and Presbyterian religious and
marriage services. During World War II, Red Cross volunteers met there
to prepare bandages for wounded service personnel.
Now the site of Colton Museum, once the Colton City Library, located
on La Cadena Drive, south of City HallCarnegie Library. |
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1896 - Colton Electric Utility
Colton Electric Utility is the second oldest municipal electric utility
in the State of California. Formally established in 1896 by passage of
an ordinance to provide for “intention to acquire, construct, own, operate
and maintain a public electric light system for supplying lights, power
to the city residents”. The issue was passed 114 to12 by a vote of the
citizens and the plant, costing $6,000 was built. Additional services and
expansion has occurred over the next 100+ years and In 2003 the Agua Mansa
Power Plant was built and dedicated. It is a GE LM 6000, 50 Mega Watt gas
fired turbine generator; it generates 43 mega watts for the city on average.
| 1900 - Reche Canyon
Local
Milk Delivery
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Reche Canyon was once a box canyon area full of natural vegetation,
many deep springs and abundant wildlife; deer, bobcats, quail, rabbits
and coyotes. An old stage road wound along near the tops of the hills where
bandits harassed travelers. They stole horses and cattle and everything
else they could move. One tale maintains that an organized crime wave in
Reche Canyon was broken up after outlaws stole money and as many sacks
of flour as they could carry from a prosperous local flour mill. What the
bandits didn't realize was that in their haste to make a getaway in the
middle of the night, the flour sacks leaked. When the mill was opened the
next morning, a trail of flour identified the route back to the hideout.
At the north entrance to the Canyon, stood “Hollow Hill” dairy, later to
become a restaurant for a short period of time, later a summer school for
children. As time progressed, part of the land became mobile home estates
and part single family houses. Few of the original springs of the Canyon
exist with the water level dropping each year. Rumor still persists of
a mystery gold mine in Reche Canyon but no one knows where to look for
it. |
| 1910 - Colton Fire Department 1889-1998
It is not known of the exact location or who attended that first meeting
to form the Colton Fire Department on February 21, 1888. Possibly Judge
Nicholas Earp, who was appointed the County Recorder seven months earlier
or, perhaps his son Virgil, the town Marshall, or George Cooley, a ranch
owner who was very active in city and county affairs. In any case, the
newly formed department was made up of volunteers from local businessmen,
ranchers, and farmers. |
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The new department fought fires with water buckets as they had done
since Colton's beginning in 1875. The first fire apparatus was purchased
by the City, October 16, 1889. It consisted of one hose cart, 1,000 feet
of 2-inch hose and 3 fire extinguishers. This hose cart was pulled by the
firemen throughout the streets of Colton. City Leaders made the department
official November 11, 1889, in a brick building at the corner of 7 th and
“I” street (Valley Blvd.). In May of 1892, the city purchased a hook and
ladder cart that was also hand drawn by the firemen. Both pieces of equipment
were used until 1905, when a horse drawn hose wagon was put into service.
(This wagon still exists and is on loan for display at The San Bernardino
County Museum). The members of the Fire Department asked the Citizens of
Colton for contributions to purchase the horse harness and tack. The cost
was $300.00.
By 1914, progress brought a new motorized engine to the City of Colton;
this was the first motorized engine in the San Bernardino Valley. Engine
#1 was a white triple combination (pump, hose, and chemical rig). It sported
the best trim and gold leaf insignias the decorators could find. The emblems
on the side of the hose bed were gold hubs, representing the “Hub City.”
This engine was chain driven and had solid rubber tires to support the
massive weight.
Pictures of this engine are on display at the Colton Fire Stations,
as well as the Colton Museum. The last remaining pieces of Colton Engine
#1 are at the Pioneer Fire Museum in San Bernardino.
| 1937 - Colton Police Department
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The Colton Police Department's colorful history began with its first
Chief, Marshall Virgil Earp, in 1887, the year the city was incorporated.
The title of Town Marshall was changed to Chief of Police, a position appointed
by the City Council, in the early 1900's. Originally the Town Marshall
owned his own horse but administered police service from the new city hall
in 1890. He booked prisoners, after transporting them in a wheelbarrow,
into a two-room cell too low for a man to stand in. Colton grew in square
mileage, which required the council to furnish a horse; they raised the
Chief's salary to $75.00 per month. |
A strong foundation for law and order was built as Colton entered the 20
th Century. In 1884, the last convict was hanged in San Bernardino for
a Colton homicide stemming from a love triangle. The century cost the lives
of two officers in police shootings during 1927. In 1937 the city purchased
two police cars and two motorcycles. Technology, as primitive as it was,
allowed the placement of radios in both of those cars. The police now required
a Chief, an Assistant Chief, two sergeants, two motor officers and four
patrolmen.
In early 1932 the Police Department recruited its original citizen volunteers
as merchants walked nightly patrols for the beat officers. Throughout the
30's, vagrancy and hobos impacted the police calls for service. Police
from all over California looked upon Colton, the Hub City, as an important
point to observe the transient flow for wanted suspects. By 1940 the police
department installed radios in all their police cars and the station. The
frequency was shared by neighboring cities; this remained a constant through
the early 1970's. Complaints of speeding vehicles, curfew violations, panhandling
and burglaries have dominated police calls for 100 years.
Colton has grown from a one-man department in 1887; today, Colton is
a full-service police department comprised of three divisions, staffed
by 80 men and women who are responsible for carrying out the department
mission.
| COLTON TODAY
Today the City of Colton encompasses an area of approximately 16 square
miles and operates as a general law city, governed by the City Council,
of the State of California. Colton, with a current population of over 51,000
is located between the Cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, in the middle
of the Inland Empire, one of the fastest growing regions in the United
States. Colton is now a thriving and well-balanced community offering affordable
housing, many family support programs, recreation and parks, health services,
a quality education system, public safety programs, two community centers,
and an aggressive problem-solving government. |
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The Mayor is separately elected and serves a four-year term. Six elected
Councilpersons serve four-year terms. The City Council also serves as the
Board for the Redevelopment Agency for the City of Colton. Advising the
City Council are a number of appointed citizen commissions and boards.
Other elected officials include the City Clerk and the City Treasurer who
serve four-year terms.
The top appointed officials are the City Manager who oversees all City
operations and the City Attorney who provides legal services to the City
Council and all departments.
Colton is a full-service city staffed by over 300 employees. Services
include public safety (police, fire, and emergency medical services); planning
and inspection services as well as public works maintenance programs; community
development, a full range of people services (recreation for all ages,
library services, child care, youth and family support programs); all utilities
(electrical, water, sewer, refuse collection) except gas; economic development
and redevelopment programs; and administrative services providing support
for all departments. |
