History of Riverside, California
Encyclopedia
Riverside, California
, was founded in 1870, and named for its location beside the Santa Ana River
. It became the county seat when Riverside County, California
, was established in 1893.
people. No permanent settlements are known to have existed, but occasional villages close to the river were documented by later explorers. Artifacts found at White Sulpher Springs, as well as grain grinding holes in rocks south of Mount Rubidoux, provide evidence of the Native American activity.
, leading an exploratory expedition to find a good land route from southern Mexico
to Alta California
, reached the area today known as Riverside. He, and others in his contingent, described the area as a beautiful place fragrent with rosemary
and other herbs, and having rich grasslands for their horses and cattle to graze. He named the area Valle de Paraiso, or Valley of Paradise. This was the first official record made of what was to become the city of Riverside.
De Anza lead a second expedition through the area on December 31, 1775. This expedition was a colonizing expedition headed for Monterey. They spent New Years eve on the banks of the Santa Anna River, and crossed the river the following day.
The routes taken by the two expeditions is believed to have followed a course from somewhere near Lake Perris
, in current-day Moreno Valley
, down the Box Springs grade near the 60/215 Highway interchange, and across Riverside in the direction of the Martha McLean – Anza Narrows
park. A marker in the park was dedicated to recognize the point where the group crossed the Santa Ana River. To commemorate De Anza's expeditions, the city of Riverside, through private donations and a federal grant from the Works Progress Administration
, began work on a 20 foot statue of De Anza in 1939. The dedication took place in May, 1942, at the corner of Market and 14th streets.
In 1873 Eliza Tibbets
convinced William Saunders, Superintendent of the fledgling Bureau of Agriculture
, to make her a test grower for his new seedless oranges from Bahia
, Brazil
. By planting and nurturing the orange trees that Saunders sent her, Tibbets revolutionized the citrus industry. Introduction of these oranges, later called the Washington Navel Orange, proved to be the most successful experiment of Saunders’ tenure, and one of the outstanding events in the economic and social development of California. For the next 60 years and more, a great industry was built up from the two small trees planted in Riverside by Eliza Tibbets.
The citrus industry in California had begun before Tibbets’ introduction of the Washington navel orange. However, there was no outstanding early and midseason variety of sweet orange generally adapted to the climate. Extant citrus was mostly seedling trees grown from seeds obtained locally or from the Spanish missions
. Growers experimented, but there was a lack of standardization in quality.
Eliza Tibbets planted the two trees in her garden in 1873. It is widely accepted that she took care of the two remaining trees using dishwater to keep them alive because the Tibbets lot was not connected to canal water. Agriculture officials attribute the success of the two trees that did flourish to Eliza Tibbets’ care. The first fruits borne by these trees were produced in the season of 1875-76. When the Washington navel orange was publicly displayed at a fair in 1879, the valuable commercial characteristics of the fruit, including their quality, shape, size, color, texture, and seedlessness, were immediately recognized. Tibbets’ orange was also ideally suited to Riverside’s semiarid weather, and its thick skin enabled it to be packed and shipped. The contrast between this new fruit and that of seedling trees was so striking that most new grove plantings were of Washington navel oranges. Tibbets sold budwood from her trees to local nurserymen, which led to extensive plantings of nursery trees cloned from hers. Since then Washington navel orange budwood and trees have been taken from California across the seas to Japan, Australia, South Africa, and other tropical or semi-tropical districts.
The growth that the Washington Navel Orange (WNO) produced in Riverside spread throughout the state, driving the state and even the national economy. Citrus assumed a major place in California's economy. By 1917 WNO culture was a $30 million per year industry in California. By 1933 the WNO industry in CA had grown to an industry with an annual income of $67 million. From one million boxes of oranges in 1887 to more than 65.5 million boxes of oranges, lemons, and grapefruit in 1944, despite the depression years of the 1930s, the California citrus industry experienced nothing short of explosive growth.
The success of Tibbets’ orange inspired irrigation
projects which converted more desert to orange groves. The size, scale, and ingenuity of the irrigation structures in Riverside and surrounding area are considered one of the agricultural marvels of the age. By 1893 Riverside was the wealthiest city per capita in the United States. Money poured into California. Tibbets’ orange led to an estimated $100 million of direct and indirect investment in citrus industry over the next 25 years. But Eliza Tibbets’ orange did not merely feed the wealth and growth of existing towns; new cities and towns popped up whose birth, existence, and future depended upon the condition of the orange market. In 1886 alone new citrus towns were laid out in
Rialto, Fontana, Bloomington, Redlands, Terracina, Mound City (Loma Linda), and South Riverside, (Corona). Irrigated communities like Etiwanda, Redlands, Ontario and many others were launched.
The rapidly expanding citrus industry also stimulated the capital market for real estate
. As the industry grew, land which had been regarded as worthless dramatically increased value. Not only did orange culture feed the land boom of the 1880s in Southern California; it allowed Riverside to survive when the land boom collapsed in 1888. (See also: Panic of 1893
.) The success of Tibbets’ orange stimulated related industries. Citrus built the foundations of the region's economic modernization before the great flood of defense funds began in World War II. Tibbets’ introduction of the Washington navel orange was largely responsible for the fruit packing house
s, inventions in boxing machines, fruit wraps and the iced railroad car.
By the mid 1880s five packing houses sprang up in Riverside. Many methods developed in the course of the growth of this industry, which had a wide application, to other fruit growing industries as well to citrus. The study and efforts of pioneers in the development of the California citrus industry led to the invention of fumigation
, of orchard heaters, and of many other methods of culture. In 1897-1898 Benjamin and Harrison Wright invented and patented a mechanized orange washer. By the end of 1898, two-thirds of Riverside’s packinghouses were using the machines. At the turn of the centuring Stebler and Parker began manufacturing citrus packing machinery in Riverside independent of each other. The companies, which merged in 1922, became the California Iron Works, and later still Food Machinery Corporation (today’s FMC Corp.
). The Santa Fe Railroad opened a direct line to Riverside in 1886 allowing direct shipment to the east. Eight years later the first refrigerated rail cars
shipped oranges from Riverside to the east on the Santa Fe Railroad.
Another illustration of the results of the success of the citrus industry in California was the organization of the growers into an exchange for the co-operative handling of their crop and its distribution. California Fruit Growers Exchange, a cooperative marketing association made up of local growers was founded in 1893; it is now known as Sunkist Growers, Incorporated
.
A key feature of the growth of the Washington Navel orange industry was a scientific approach to improvement. Study of propagation culture handling, transportation and other phases of producing distributing and marketing the crop was largely responsible for advancements used not only with citrus but also in other fruit industries. In 1893 cyanide gas was used to fight citrus scale. A U. S. Department of Agriculture scientist helped growers to harness nature's biological wrath during the "decay crisis" of 1905-1907, when alarming proportions of fruit spoiled in transit, and wed the industry to the scientific expertise of the USDA.
Growers, scientists, and workers transformed the natural and social landscape of California, turning it into a factory for the production of millions of oranges. Orange growers in California developed the commercialized agriculture that only spread to the rest of the country a generation later. In 1906 University of California
established in Riverside its Citrus Experiment Station
, the beginnings of the University of California, Riverside
. Originally located on the slope of Mount Rubidoux, the station institutionalized the scientific expertise, support, and presence of the state's university and the federal government in the citrus industry, and brought quality control to the first link in the corporate agricultural chain. In a field department was created which provided member growers with scientific and practical horticultural advice and direction that ultimately led to huge gains in productivity.
Tibbets’ orange allowed agriculture in California to survive transition from wheat
. Wheat had been the single most profitable crop statewide between 1870 and 1900 as California became one of the largest grain producers in the nation. Sometime about 1880 many agriculturalists in the central valley and Southern California began to convert to fruit. Soil and climate were obviously conducive to such a conversion. After the turn of the century, wheat exports began a rapid decline prompted by intense Canadian and Russian competition and declining grain yields due to soil depletion. As the soil became depleted by wheat growing, they were subdivided and used for horticulture. Agriculture thus came to provide a firm foundation for the state’s economy.
s live in the sections of Arlington and La Sierra, the majority being Chinese American
and Korean American
. The largest Korean American church in the city is Riverside Korean Baptist Church near Arlington.
Riverside used to boast one of the largest Chinatowns in California, but the last resident, Mr. Wong, died in the 1970s and the remaining (decrepit) buildings were razed. Extensive archaeological excavation took place in the 1980s, and many artifacts are housed at the newly re-named Metropolitan Museum across from the Mission Inn Hotel. The City of Riverside Planning Commission and City Council are in the final stages of approving the construction of a medical building on the site, which has spurred opposition. A new organization called the Riverside Chinese Culture Preservation Committee formed in the summer of 2008 with the goal of protecting the site from commercial development.
In 1915 a Japan
ese immigrant named Jukichi Harada, proprietor for many years of a local restaurant, purchased a home in Riverside in the names of his American-born children in order to provide access for them to the public school system. Neighbors formed a committee and charged him with violating the California Alien Land Law of 1913
, which barred aliens ineligible for citizenship from owning land. The case, The People of the State of California v. Jukichi Harada, became a test of the constitutionality of the law and progressed to the state Supreme Court, which ruled that the Harada children could own land. The Metropolitan Museum of Riverside now owns the Harada House
, which has been designated a National Historic Landmark
.
Dalip Singh Saund
, the first Asian-born politician elected to the United States Congress (and the only Sikh-American), was voted into office in 1956 to represent a district that included Riverside.
Filipinos have been in Riverside for over 100 years. Known as the Pensionados, they were Philippine nationals sent to live in the United States to learn the principles of liberty and self-government.
recreation center named for the major league baseball legend.
from September 22, 1957, to July 2, 1989. Races held at the Riverside International Raceway included Formula One
, NASCAR
, Can-Am, USAC, IMSA
, IROC
, and CART
. The raceway was closed to make way for a shopping mall and housing development shortly after the raceway property was incorporated with the city of Moreno Valley
in 1984. In 2003, plans were announced to build a 3-mile (4.8 km) road course near Merced, California
, based on the design of the Riverside layout. The new track would have been known as the Riverside Motorsports Park
.
Riverside has had three minor league baseball
teams: one in 1941 known as the Riverside Reds, and two from the class-A California League
– the Riverside Red Wave from 1988 to 1990, and the Riverside Pilots
(a Seattle Mariners Class-A minor league affiliate) from 1993 to 1995. The teams played at the UC-Riverside Sports Center
also known as the Blaine Sports Complex. The Red Wave moved to Adelanto in 1990 to become the High Desert Mavericks
and the Pilots moved to Lancaster in 1995 to become the Lancaster JetHawks
. The Pilot's move occurred after a long-standing dispute between the Pilots, the California League, and the city to build a new facility to replace the Blaine Sports Complex. Today, a semi-pro collegiate team, the Inland Empire Rockets, plays some home games in Riverside and Moreno Valley.
Riverside, California
Riverside is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and the county seat of the eponymous county. Named for its location beside the Santa Ana River, it is the largest city in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area of Southern California, 4th largest inland California...
, was founded in 1870, and named for its location beside the Santa Ana River
Santa Ana River
The Santa Ana River is the largest river of Southern California in the United States. Its drainage basin spans four counties. It rises in the San Bernardino Mountains and flows past the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, before cutting through the northern tip of the Santa Ana Mountains and...
. It became the county seat when Riverside County, California
Riverside County, California
Riverside County is a county in the U.S. state of California. One of 58 California counties, it covers in the southern part of the state, and stretches from Orange County to the Colorado River, which forms the state border with Arizona. The county derives its name from the city of Riverside,...
, was established in 1893.
Precolonial period
Prior to the colonization of Mexico and Alta California by Spain, the land that would become Riverside, California, was frequented by various Native AmericanNative Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
people. No permanent settlements are known to have existed, but occasional villages close to the river were documented by later explorers. Artifacts found at White Sulpher Springs, as well as grain grinding holes in rocks south of Mount Rubidoux, provide evidence of the Native American activity.
Spanish Period
On March 20, 1774, Juan Bautista De AnzaJuan Bautista de Anza
Juan Bautista de Anza Bezerra Nieto was a Novo-Spanish explorer and Governor of New Mexico for the Spanish Empire.-Early life:...
, leading an exploratory expedition to find a good land route from southern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
to Alta California
Alta California
Alta California was a province and territory in the Viceroyalty of New Spain and later a territory and department in independent Mexico. The territory was created in 1769 out of the northern part of the former province of Las Californias, and consisted of the modern American states of California,...
, reached the area today known as Riverside. He, and others in his contingent, described the area as a beautiful place fragrent with rosemary
Rosemary
Rosemary, , is a woody, perennial herb with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple or blue flowers, native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, which includes many other herbs, and is one of two species in the genus Rosmarinus...
and other herbs, and having rich grasslands for their horses and cattle to graze. He named the area Valle de Paraiso, or Valley of Paradise. This was the first official record made of what was to become the city of Riverside.
De Anza lead a second expedition through the area on December 31, 1775. This expedition was a colonizing expedition headed for Monterey. They spent New Years eve on the banks of the Santa Anna River, and crossed the river the following day.
The routes taken by the two expeditions is believed to have followed a course from somewhere near Lake Perris
Lake Perris
Lake Perris is an artificial lake completed in 1973. It is the southern terminus of the California State Water Project situated in a mountain-rimmed valley between Moreno Valley, and city of Perris in what is now the Lake Perris State Recreation Area. The park offers a variety of recreational...
, in current-day Moreno Valley
Moreno Valley, California
Moreno Valley is a city located in Riverside County, California.A relatively young city, its rapid growth in the 1980s and the first decade of the 21st century made it second-largest city in Riverside County by population, and one of the Inland Empire's population centers. As of the 2010 census,...
, down the Box Springs grade near the 60/215 Highway interchange, and across Riverside in the direction of the Martha McLean – Anza Narrows
Martha McLean – Anza Narrows
Martha McLean – Anza Narrows is a regional park located along the Santa Ana River in Riverside, California, United States. The park is operated by the Riverside County Regional Parks and Open Space District...
park. A marker in the park was dedicated to recognize the point where the group crossed the Santa Ana River. To commemorate De Anza's expeditions, the city of Riverside, through private donations and a federal grant from the Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
, began work on a 20 foot statue of De Anza in 1939. The dedication took place in May, 1942, at the corner of Market and 14th streets.
Citrus history
Eliza Tibbets
Eliza Tibbets , on her ranch in Riverside, California with husband Luther C. Tibbets, is known as growing the first Washington navel orange and founding the citrus industry and cultural landscape of orange groves in California, United States...
convinced William Saunders, Superintendent of the fledgling Bureau of Agriculture
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...
, to make her a test grower for his new seedless oranges from Bahia
Bahia
Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. By planting and nurturing the orange trees that Saunders sent her, Tibbets revolutionized the citrus industry. Introduction of these oranges, later called the Washington Navel Orange, proved to be the most successful experiment of Saunders’ tenure, and one of the outstanding events in the economic and social development of California. For the next 60 years and more, a great industry was built up from the two small trees planted in Riverside by Eliza Tibbets.
The citrus industry in California had begun before Tibbets’ introduction of the Washington navel orange. However, there was no outstanding early and midseason variety of sweet orange generally adapted to the climate. Extant citrus was mostly seedling trees grown from seeds obtained locally or from the Spanish missions
Spanish missions in California
The Spanish missions in California comprise a series of religious and military outposts established by Spanish Catholics of the Franciscan Order between 1769 and 1823 to spread the Christian faith among the local Native Americans. The missions represented the first major effort by Europeans to...
. Growers experimented, but there was a lack of standardization in quality.
Eliza Tibbets planted the two trees in her garden in 1873. It is widely accepted that she took care of the two remaining trees using dishwater to keep them alive because the Tibbets lot was not connected to canal water. Agriculture officials attribute the success of the two trees that did flourish to Eliza Tibbets’ care. The first fruits borne by these trees were produced in the season of 1875-76. When the Washington navel orange was publicly displayed at a fair in 1879, the valuable commercial characteristics of the fruit, including their quality, shape, size, color, texture, and seedlessness, were immediately recognized. Tibbets’ orange was also ideally suited to Riverside’s semiarid weather, and its thick skin enabled it to be packed and shipped. The contrast between this new fruit and that of seedling trees was so striking that most new grove plantings were of Washington navel oranges. Tibbets sold budwood from her trees to local nurserymen, which led to extensive plantings of nursery trees cloned from hers. Since then Washington navel orange budwood and trees have been taken from California across the seas to Japan, Australia, South Africa, and other tropical or semi-tropical districts.
Legacy of introduction
Tibbets’ success with the navel orange had led to a rapid increase in citrus planting, and the citrus planted was predominantly the Washington navel orange. The commercial success of these early orchards soon led to a widespread interest in this variety, so that by 1900 it was the most extensively grown citrus fruit in California.The growth that the Washington Navel Orange (WNO) produced in Riverside spread throughout the state, driving the state and even the national economy. Citrus assumed a major place in California's economy. By 1917 WNO culture was a $30 million per year industry in California. By 1933 the WNO industry in CA had grown to an industry with an annual income of $67 million. From one million boxes of oranges in 1887 to more than 65.5 million boxes of oranges, lemons, and grapefruit in 1944, despite the depression years of the 1930s, the California citrus industry experienced nothing short of explosive growth.
The success of Tibbets’ orange inspired irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
projects which converted more desert to orange groves. The size, scale, and ingenuity of the irrigation structures in Riverside and surrounding area are considered one of the agricultural marvels of the age. By 1893 Riverside was the wealthiest city per capita in the United States. Money poured into California. Tibbets’ orange led to an estimated $100 million of direct and indirect investment in citrus industry over the next 25 years. But Eliza Tibbets’ orange did not merely feed the wealth and growth of existing towns; new cities and towns popped up whose birth, existence, and future depended upon the condition of the orange market. In 1886 alone new citrus towns were laid out in
Rialto, Fontana, Bloomington, Redlands, Terracina, Mound City (Loma Linda), and South Riverside, (Corona). Irrigated communities like Etiwanda, Redlands, Ontario and many others were launched.
The rapidly expanding citrus industry also stimulated the capital market for real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
. As the industry grew, land which had been regarded as worthless dramatically increased value. Not only did orange culture feed the land boom of the 1880s in Southern California; it allowed Riverside to survive when the land boom collapsed in 1888. (See also: Panic of 1893
Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States that began in 1893. Similar to the Panic of 1873, this panic was marked by the collapse of railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing which set off a series of bank failures...
.) The success of Tibbets’ orange stimulated related industries. Citrus built the foundations of the region's economic modernization before the great flood of defense funds began in World War II. Tibbets’ introduction of the Washington navel orange was largely responsible for the fruit packing house
Packing house
A packing house is a facility where fruit is received and processed prior to distribution to market.Bulk fruit is delivered to the plant via trucks or wagons, where it is dumped into receiving bins and sorted for quality and size...
s, inventions in boxing machines, fruit wraps and the iced railroad car.
By the mid 1880s five packing houses sprang up in Riverside. Many methods developed in the course of the growth of this industry, which had a wide application, to other fruit growing industries as well to citrus. The study and efforts of pioneers in the development of the California citrus industry led to the invention of fumigation
Fumigation
Fumigation is a method of pest control that completely fills an area with gaseous pesticides—or fumigants—to suffocate or poison the pests within. It is utilized for control of pests in buildings , soil, grain, and produce, and is also used during processing of goods to be imported or...
, of orchard heaters, and of many other methods of culture. In 1897-1898 Benjamin and Harrison Wright invented and patented a mechanized orange washer. By the end of 1898, two-thirds of Riverside’s packinghouses were using the machines. At the turn of the centuring Stebler and Parker began manufacturing citrus packing machinery in Riverside independent of each other. The companies, which merged in 1922, became the California Iron Works, and later still Food Machinery Corporation (today’s FMC Corp.
FMC Corp.
FMC Corporation is a chemical manufacturing company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. FMC employs over 4,800 people world wide, and had gross revenues of US$3.115 billion in 2008.-The Bean Spray Pump Company:...
). The Santa Fe Railroad opened a direct line to Riverside in 1886 allowing direct shipment to the east. Eight years later the first refrigerated rail cars
Refrigerator car
A refrigerator car is a refrigerated boxcar , a piece of railroad rolling stock designed to carry perishable freight at specific temperatures. Refrigerator cars differ from simple insulated boxcars and ventilated boxcars , neither of which are fitted with cooling apparatus...
shipped oranges from Riverside to the east on the Santa Fe Railroad.
Another illustration of the results of the success of the citrus industry in California was the organization of the growers into an exchange for the co-operative handling of their crop and its distribution. California Fruit Growers Exchange, a cooperative marketing association made up of local growers was founded in 1893; it is now known as Sunkist Growers, Incorporated
Sunkist Growers, Incorporated
Sunkist Growers, Incorporated is a citrus grower's non-stock membership cooperative composed of 6,000 members from California and Arizona. It is headquartered in the Sherman Oaks district of Los Angeles.-History:...
.
A key feature of the growth of the Washington Navel orange industry was a scientific approach to improvement. Study of propagation culture handling, transportation and other phases of producing distributing and marketing the crop was largely responsible for advancements used not only with citrus but also in other fruit industries. In 1893 cyanide gas was used to fight citrus scale. A U. S. Department of Agriculture scientist helped growers to harness nature's biological wrath during the "decay crisis" of 1905-1907, when alarming proportions of fruit spoiled in transit, and wed the industry to the scientific expertise of the USDA.
Growers, scientists, and workers transformed the natural and social landscape of California, turning it into a factory for the production of millions of oranges. Orange growers in California developed the commercialized agriculture that only spread to the rest of the country a generation later. In 1906 University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
established in Riverside its Citrus Experiment Station
University of California Citrus Experiment Station
The University of California Citrus Experiment Station is the founding unit of the University of California, Riverside campus in Riverside, California, United States. The station contributed greatly to the cultivation of the orange and the overall agriculture industry in California...
, the beginnings of the University of California, Riverside
University of California, Riverside
The University of California, Riverside, commonly known as UCR or UC Riverside, is a public research university and one of the ten general campuses of the University of California system. UCR is consistently ranked as one of the most ethnically and economically diverse universities in the United...
. Originally located on the slope of Mount Rubidoux, the station institutionalized the scientific expertise, support, and presence of the state's university and the federal government in the citrus industry, and brought quality control to the first link in the corporate agricultural chain. In a field department was created which provided member growers with scientific and practical horticultural advice and direction that ultimately led to huge gains in productivity.
Tibbets’ orange allowed agriculture in California to survive transition from wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
. Wheat had been the single most profitable crop statewide between 1870 and 1900 as California became one of the largest grain producers in the nation. Sometime about 1880 many agriculturalists in the central valley and Southern California began to convert to fruit. Soil and climate were obviously conducive to such a conversion. After the turn of the century, wheat exports began a rapid decline prompted by intense Canadian and Russian competition and declining grain yields due to soil depletion. As the soil became depleted by wheat growing, they were subdivided and used for horticulture. Agriculture thus came to provide a firm foundation for the state’s economy.
Asian-American history
Settlements of Japanese and Korean migrants used to exist along the railroad tracks, which would fill with thousands of workers during the citrus harvest. None of these remain, but the Santa Fe depot, like several others in the Inland Empire, has been restored to its turn-of-the-century glory. Today, many of Riverside's Asian AmericanAsian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
s live in the sections of Arlington and La Sierra, the majority being Chinese American
Chinese American
Chinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...
and Korean American
Korean American
Korean Americans are Americans of Korean descent, mostly from South Korea, with a small minority from North Korea...
. The largest Korean American church in the city is Riverside Korean Baptist Church near Arlington.
Riverside used to boast one of the largest Chinatowns in California, but the last resident, Mr. Wong, died in the 1970s and the remaining (decrepit) buildings were razed. Extensive archaeological excavation took place in the 1980s, and many artifacts are housed at the newly re-named Metropolitan Museum across from the Mission Inn Hotel. The City of Riverside Planning Commission and City Council are in the final stages of approving the construction of a medical building on the site, which has spurred opposition. A new organization called the Riverside Chinese Culture Preservation Committee formed in the summer of 2008 with the goal of protecting the site from commercial development.
In 1915 a Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese immigrant named Jukichi Harada, proprietor for many years of a local restaurant, purchased a home in Riverside in the names of his American-born children in order to provide access for them to the public school system. Neighbors formed a committee and charged him with violating the California Alien Land Law of 1913
California Alien Land Law of 1913
The California Alien Land Law of 1913 prohibited "aliens ineligible for citizenship" from owning land or property, but permitted three-year leases. It affected the Chinese, Indian, Japanese, and Korean immigrant farmers in California. It passed thirty-five to two in the Senate and seventy-two to...
, which barred aliens ineligible for citizenship from owning land. The case, The People of the State of California v. Jukichi Harada, became a test of the constitutionality of the law and progressed to the state Supreme Court, which ruled that the Harada children could own land. The Metropolitan Museum of Riverside now owns the Harada House
Harada House
The Harada House, built in 1884, and located at 3356 Lemon Street in Riverside, California, became the focus of an important court case testing exclusionary legislation....
, which has been designated a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
.
Dalip Singh Saund
Dalip Singh Saund
Dalip Singh Saund was a member of the United States House of Representatives. He served the 29th District of California from January 3, 1957–January 3, 1963. He was the first Asian American, Indian American and Sikh member of the United States Congress...
, the first Asian-born politician elected to the United States Congress (and the only Sikh-American), was voted into office in 1956 to represent a district that included Riverside.
Filipinos have been in Riverside for over 100 years. Known as the Pensionados, they were Philippine nationals sent to live in the United States to learn the principles of liberty and self-government.
African-American history
At the intersection of Howard and 12th sits the last remnants of a formerly thriving African-American neighborhood. The old Wiley Grocery store now houses the activities of "Black" Prince Hall Masons. Nearby is the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a pilgrimage site complete with shrine. Built and destroyed three times, the current incarnation dates from the 1920s. And the Bobby BondsBobby Bonds
Bobby Lee Bonds was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball from to , primarily with the San Francisco Giants...
recreation center named for the major league baseball legend.
Sports history
Riverside was home to the Riverside International RacewayRiverside International Raceway
Riverside International Raceway was a race track or road course in Riverside, California. The track was in operation from September 22, 1957, to July 2, 1989...
from September 22, 1957, to July 2, 1989. Races held at the Riverside International Raceway included Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
, NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
, Can-Am, USAC, IMSA
International Motor Sports Association
The International Motor Sports Association is an American sports car auto racing sanctioning body based in Braselton, Georgia. It was started by John Bishop, a former employee of SCCA , and his wife Peggy in 1969 with help from Bill France, Sr...
, IROC
International Race of Champions
International Race of Champions, better known as IROC, was a North American auto racing competition, promoted as an equivalent of an American All-Star Game or The Masters...
, and CART
Champ Car
Champ Car was the name for a class and specification of open wheel cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades, primarily for use in the Indianapolis 500 auto race...
. The raceway was closed to make way for a shopping mall and housing development shortly after the raceway property was incorporated with the city of Moreno Valley
Moreno Valley, California
Moreno Valley is a city located in Riverside County, California.A relatively young city, its rapid growth in the 1980s and the first decade of the 21st century made it second-largest city in Riverside County by population, and one of the Inland Empire's population centers. As of the 2010 census,...
in 1984. In 2003, plans were announced to build a 3-mile (4.8 km) road course near Merced, California
Merced, California
Merced is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California in the San Joaquin Valley of Northern California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 78,958. Incorporated in 1889, Merced is a charter city that operates under a council-manager government...
, based on the design of the Riverside layout. The new track would have been known as the Riverside Motorsports Park
Riverside Motorsports Park
Riverside Motorsports Park was a proposed , motorsports-themed family entertainment park to be built in Merced County, California. The name "Riverside Motorsports Park" was derived from the configuration of the park's 3-1/2 mile Road Course, which would have replicated, as closely as possible , the...
.
Riverside has had three minor league baseball
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
teams: one in 1941 known as the Riverside Reds, and two from the class-A California League
California League
The California League is a Class A Advanced minor league baseball league which operates throughout the state of California. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High-A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth...
– the Riverside Red Wave from 1988 to 1990, and the Riverside Pilots
Riverside Pilots
The Riverside Pilots were a minor league baseball team in Riverside, California. They were a high-A class team that played in the California League, and were a farm team of the Seattle Mariners for the franchise’s entire stay in Riverside...
(a Seattle Mariners Class-A minor league affiliate) from 1993 to 1995. The teams played at the UC-Riverside Sports Center
UC-Riverside Sports Center
UC-Riverside Sports Center is a stadium in Riverside, California. It is primarily used for baseball and was the home of Riverside Pilots before they moved to Lancaster, California to become the Lancaster JetHawks in 1996. The ballpark is currently the home of the University of California,...
also known as the Blaine Sports Complex. The Red Wave moved to Adelanto in 1990 to become the High Desert Mavericks
High Desert Mavericks
The High Desert Mavericks are a minor league baseball team in Adelanto, California, USA. Their Major League parent club is the Seattle Mariners. They are a Class A - Advanced team in the California League and had been a farm team of the Kansas City Royals since 2005 before the switch...
and the Pilots moved to Lancaster in 1995 to become the Lancaster JetHawks
Lancaster JetHawks
The Lancaster JetHawks are a minor league baseball team of the California League located in Lancaster, California. The team is named for the city's association with the aerospace industry and plays its home games at Clear Channel Stadium...
. The Pilot's move occurred after a long-standing dispute between the Pilots, the California League, and the city to build a new facility to replace the Blaine Sports Complex. Today, a semi-pro collegiate team, the Inland Empire Rockets, plays some home games in Riverside and Moreno Valley.
Spanish Period
- 1774 On March 20–21 Juan Bautista de AnzaJuan Bautista de AnzaJuan Bautista de Anza Bezerra Nieto was a Novo-Spanish explorer and Governor of New Mexico for the Spanish Empire.-Early life:...
treks through the Riverside area from Tubac en route to the San Gabriel Mission intent to find a land route to Alta California. - 1775 On December 31-January 1, 1776, de Anza leads a second expedition through the Riverside area intent on establishing a colony in northern California.
Mexican Period
- 1810 On September 15, MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
declares independence from SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. - 1810 James Porter Greves born in upstate New York.Patterson, Tom. A Colony For California, Second Edition, 1996. Page 26.
- 1815 John Wesley North born in Sand Lake, NY on January 4.
- 1838 Juan BandiniJuan BandiniJuan Bandini was an early settler of what would become San Diego, California.-Early history:Juan Bandini was born 1800 in Lima, Peru to José Bandini, a Spanish sea captain. His father came to California in 1819 and 1821 and participated in the Mexican War of Independence...
receives the Rancho JurupaRancho JurupaRancho Jurupa was a Mexican land grant in California, United States, that is divided by the present-day counties of Riverside and San Bernardino. The land was granted to Juan Bandini by Governor Juan B. Alvarado in 1838...
land grant. - 1842 Benjamin D. Wilson, future first mayor of Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, purchases a part of Rancho JurupaRancho JurupaRancho Jurupa was a Mexican land grant in California, United States, that is divided by the present-day counties of Riverside and San Bernardino. The land was granted to Juan Bandini by Governor Juan B. Alvarado in 1838...
that eventually becomes Rancho Rubidoux. - 1842 Wilson also arranges for another section of the Rancho Jurupa, the "Bandini Donation", to go to a group of New Mexican colonists who called their settlement Aqua Mansa.
- 1846 On May 13 the United States declares war on Mexico starting the Mexican-American War.
- 1847 Louis RubidouxLouis RubidouxLouis Rubidoux was an early European settler in the area of modern-day Riverside, California, United States. He arrived in California in 1844. He bought Rancho San Jacinto y San Gorgonio from James Johnson in 1845, and a portion of the Rancho Jurupa from Benjamin Wilson in 1849. Rubidoux...
purchases the Rancho Rubidoux from Benjamin Wilson.
American Period
- 1848 On February 2, California became a U.S. holding with the Treaty of Guadalupe HidalgoTreaty of Guadalupe HidalgoThe Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is the peace treaty, largely dictated by the United States to the interim government of a militarily occupied Mexico City, that ended the Mexican-American War on February 2, 1848...
, which ended the Mexican-American War. - 1849 The first California Constitution is adopted.
- 1850 California is divided into 27 counties, the area to become Riverside is within Los Angeles County.
- 1850 On September 9, California was admitted into the Union as the 31st state.
- 1853 San Bernardino County is formed, including the area that will become Riverside.
- 1868 Thomas W. Cover purchases parts of the Rancho Rubidoux and Bandini Donations intending to establish a silk colony.Patterson, Tom. A Colony For California, Second Edition, 1996. Page 35.
- 1869 John W. North meets Dr. James P. Greves in Knoxville, TN.
- 1870 Louis Prevost, the silk colony's expert, dies.
- 1870 On March 17 John W. North distributes a leaflet titled "A Colony for California" from Knoxville, TN.
- 1870 On March 25 Dr. Greves distributes a leaflet titled "Ho! For California" from Marshall, MI.
- 1870 In early August, John W. North meets Thomas W. Cover and North visits the Riverside area for the first time.
- 1870 On September 20, North, Greves, and others legally incorporate the Southern California Colony Association.
- 1870 In December Luther C. TibbetsLuther C. TibbetsLuther Calvin Tibbets was born in South Berwick, York County, Maine. He and his wife Eliza Tibbets grew the first Washington Navel orange in Riverside, California in 1871, and founded the California citrus industry.-History:...
arrives from Washington DC. - 1873 Eliza TibbetsEliza TibbetsEliza Tibbets , on her ranch in Riverside, California with husband Luther C. Tibbets, is known as growing the first Washington navel orange and founding the citrus industry and cultural landscape of orange groves in California, United States...
requests a new variety of orange from the US Department of Agriculture in Washington, DC. She receives 2 surviving Bahia Navel Orange trees. - 1876 C.C. Miller begins accepting paying guests has his adobe home named the Glenwood Cottages.
- 1880 Frank MillerFrank Augustus MillerFrank Augustus Miller was the owner and chief developer of the Mission Inn in Riverside, California, United States. He was also a civic leader and one of Riverside's strongest promoters....
, C. C. Miller's son, takes over the Glenwood Cottages. - 1883 The city of Riverside is incorporated.
- 1893 On March 11 the County of Riverside is formed, with Riverside as the county seat.
- 1903 The Glenwood Cottages is renamed the Mission Inn.
- 1903 On May 7, President Theodore Roosevelt stays at the Mission Inn.
- 1909 President Taft visits the Mission Inn.
- 1935 On June 15, Frank Miller dies, and the Mission Inn passes to DeWitt and Allis Hutchings.
- 1961 The Mission Inn is designated a California Historical LandmarkCalifornia Historical LandmarkCalifornia Historical Landmarks are buildings, structures, sites, or places in the state of California that have been determined to have statewide historical significance by meeting at least one of the criteria listed below:...
. - 1977 In October the Mission Inn is designated a National Historic LandmarkNational Historic LandmarkA National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
.