Colton

By Larry Sheffield

Take a train to Southern California, and you'll pass through Colton. Once the home of Gabrielino and Serrano Indians, Colton is now known as the "Hub City," the only place in the United States where the Union Pacific and the Burlington, Northern & Santa Fe railroads cross. Westward-bound rail passengers travel through the horseshoe-shaped valley along the same trails that served Spanish explorers journeying from Mexico to Monterey in the 1770s. The valley's early settlers made use of the rich soil and ready transportation, cultivating fruit trees and shipping their harvest north and east. Legendary figures have also roamed Colton's streets, including the famous Tombstone gunslingers Wyatt Earp and his brother Virgil, who was Colton's first marshal, and their father, Nicholas, who served as a justice of the peace and city recorder. Over the 150 years of the community's history, many have passed through Colton, and all have left their mark on this classically Californian town.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Jul 8, 2004
• ISBN: 9781439614280

Larry Sheffield

Larry Sheffield, a contributor to both The Sun and The Colton City News, has collected more than 200 historic photographs, many from the archives of the Colton Area Museum Association, an organization he currently serves as president. This is his third book on the history of Colton and the only published collection of historic images devoted exclusively to the city.

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INTRODUCTION

Since its founding 129 years ago, Colton has grown from a township of approximately 1 square mile to a city of nearly 18 square miles. This growth has come through the annexation of neighboring areas, many of which have their own unique histories predating the founding of Colton proper. With the annexation of these areas, Colton has broadened the scope of its history, making it one of the most historic cities in the San Bernardino Valley.

The first people to inhabit what is today Colton were Native Americans—Gabrielino and Serrano—who lived in villages near the Santa Ana River and in Reche Canyon. Spanish explorers in search of an overland route from Mexico to Monterey passed through or near Colton in the 1770s. Franciscan missionaries from Mission San Gabriel established a presence in the Colton area in the early 1880s. The Rancho period saw the creation of the San Bernardino and Jurupa Ranchos, portions of which are now within the boundaries of Colton. Immigrants from New Mexico arrived in the San Bernardino Valley via the Old Spanish Trail in the 1840s and founded Agua Mansa, now a part of Colton, and the Mormon colonization of San Bernardino in 1851 brought English and American settlers to what is today Colton.

The Southern Pacific Railroad Company founded the town site of Colton in 1875, naming it after David Douty Colton, vice president of the railroad company at the time. Within a few months, the company built water towers and a train station, and the first residents of the town site arrived. Among these first residents were transplants from Tennessee, Alabama, Massachusetts, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Kansas, and they were soon joined by descendants of the New Mexican founders of Agua Mansa, who moved into the southern section of the town site from the neighboring area of San Salvador.

In 1883, the California Southern Railroad extended its line from San Diego through Colton to San Bernardino, making Colton the transportation hub of the San Bernardino Valley. By 1887, Colton’s population had grown to slightly more than 1,000 people, and in April of that year the town incorporated as a city of the sixth class.

Because of its location at the junction of two transcontinental railways, Colton became the citrus processing and shipping center of the San Bernardino Valley and one of the largest citrus shipping points in the state. The city’s economic base underwent significant expansion in 1891, when the California Portland Cement Company began mining limestone on Slover Mountain, and again in 1907, when the Pacific Fruit Express opened its rail car pre-cooling plant in Colton.

Throughout the first half of the 20th century, Colton had the appearance of Hometown U.S.A., a nearly self-contained and ethnically divided community built around a downtown area comprising professional offices, shops, department stores, movie theaters, restaurants, and soda fountains.

Colton underwent significant changes during the 1950s and 1960s. The city became more ethnically integrated during the post–World War II years. Interstate 10 replaced J Street, the city’s first commercial district, and annexations expanded the city’s boundaries and history. New shopping centers opened, and most of the buildings making up the downtown section were demolished as part of various redevelopment projects. Today, Colton is a diverse suburban city, but its proximity to freeways and railroads still make it the transportation hub of the San Bernardino Valley.

Don Earp, left, a cousin of Wyatt Earp, and Larry Fisher linked the past with the present at the Earp exhibit in the Colton Area Museum during a museum open house in 2002. (Photo by Larry Sheffield. )

This photo captures the spirit of Colton as Hub City. The view looks to the south, where the Union Pacific and Burlington Northern & Santa Fe tracks cross under Interstate 10. (Courtesy of the Colton Chamber of Commerce.)

One

FORERUNNERS

The first people to live in what is today Colton were Gabrielino and Serrano Indians. The Serrano had villages in the vicinity of Hunt’s Lane, immediately north of Interstate 10, and in Reche Canyon. Shown in this c.