La Placita, California

Last updated

La Placita
Ghost town
Coordinates: 34°01′09″N117°21′00″W / 34.01917°N 117.35000°W / 34.01917; -117.35000
Country United States
State California
County Riverside
Time zone UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC-7 (PDT)

La Placita (originally: La Placita de los Trujillos; alternate: San Salvador) [1] is a former settlement and the earliest community established in Riverside County, California, USA. [2] The town was informally established soon after 1843 [3] on the Santa Ana River, across from the town of Agua Mansa. [4] La Placita and Agua Mansa were the first non-native settlements in the San Bernardino Valley. [5] Together, they were referred to as "San Salvador", [6] and were the largest settlements between New Mexico and Los Angeles in the 1840s. [7]

Contents

History

A group of genízaro colonists from Abiquiú, New Mexico, arrived in the area in the early 1840s. [8] Don Juan Bandini donated a portion of Rancho Jurupa to them on the condition that they would assist in protecting his livestock from Indian raids. Lorenzo Trujillo led ten of the colonist families to 2,000 acres on the "Bandini Donation" on the southeast bank of the Santa Ana River and formed the village of La Placita while others went to the northwest bank of the river and created the town of Agua Mansa. [5] [9] Farms, orchards, and vineyards were planted and developed after an extensive irrigation system was incorporated. Livestock were tended on the mesa pasture area to the southeast in what is now Riverside. [5] Formal establishment of the area as a political unit occurred in 1852 when the Board of Supervisors of Los Angeles County established a town called "San Salvador" encompassing Jurupa, Agua Mansa, and other adjacent settlements; Lorenzo Trujillo's house was established as the official location for elections. [10] The region now resides in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. After the Great Flood of 1862 and a second flood in 1886, most residents moved to other locations including what is now south Colton.

Today, the Agua Mansa cemetery is the main symbol of the history of the region. The area is now dominated by several industrial complexes and Riverside County waste transfer and recycling stations. Unfortunately, the historic nature of this area continues to be lost as local governments move to approve developments including warehousing and high density housing on these lands rather than celebrate and support the history of the area.

Culture

The town's first church consisted of an arbor. [7] After the adobe church that was built in 1852 collapsed in quicksand, a new church was built in Agua Mansa. Completed in 1853 and dedicated to San Salvador, the church survived through the Great Flood of 1862. [5] The parish of San Salvador de Jurupa included La Placita and Agua Mansa; it was the first non-mission parish in Southern California. [11] However, as residents moved from the area, a new congregation was established in 1893 in Colton, which retains the parish name of San Salvador, in the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Bernardino.

The Trujillo Adobe, which had been the home of Lorenzo Trujillo, [12] was donated to the Riverside County Parks Department by JoAnn Conner (Dreesen), the niece of Charles Trujillo. [13] The small structure south of the San Bernardino County boundary at the corner of Center and Orange Streets has been proposed for historic preservation. [1] [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colton, California</span> City in California, United States

Colton is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. Nicknamed "Hub City", Colton is located in the Inland Empire region of the state and is a suburb of San Bernardino, approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) south of the city's downtown. The population of Colton is 52,154 according to the 2010 census, up from 47,662 at the 2000 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benjamin Davis Wilson</span> American politician from California (1811–1878)

Benjamin Davis Wilson, commonly known as Don Benito Wilson, was an American-Mexican politician, fur trapper, and ranchero of California. Born in Tennessee, Wilson eventually settled in Alta California when it was part of the Republic of Mexico, and acquired Rancho Jurupa. He became a naturalized Mexican citizen and married into a prominent Californio family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Bernardino Valley</span> Valley in California, United States

The San Bernardino Valley is a valley in Southern California located at the south base of the Transverse Ranges. It is bordered on the north by the eastern San Gabriel Mountains and the San Bernardino Mountains; on the east by the San Jacinto Mountains; on the south by the Temescal Mountains and Santa Ana Mountains; and on the west by the Pomona Valley. Elevation varies from 590 feet (180 m) on valley floors near Chino to 1,380 feet (420 m) near San Bernardino and Redlands. The valley floor is home to over 80% of the more than 4 million people in the Inland Empire region.

San Bernardino, California, was named in 1810.

Rancho Jurupa was a 40,569-acre (164.18 km2) 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. Located along both banks of the Santa Ana River in southern California, the rancho included much of the land in the present day city of Jurupa Valley, as well as the downtown area in the city of Riverside.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Rubidoux</span> Historic site in Rubidoux, California

Louis Rubidoux was an early settler in the area of modern-day Riverside, California, United States. He was son of Joseph Robidoux III and Catherine Marie Rollet. He arrived in California in 1844. He bought Rancho San Jacinto y San Gorgonio from James (Santiago) Johnson in 1845, and a portion of the Rancho Jurupa from Benjamin Wilson in 1849. Rubidoux became a successful rancher. He built the first grist mill in the area, operated a winery, and became one of San Bernardino County's first three supervisors. The town of Rubidoux and Mount Rubidoux in Riverside County, California are named for him.

Rancho El Rincón was a 4,431-acre (17.93 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day San Bernardino County and Riverside County, California given in 1839 to Juan Bandini by Governor Juan Alvarado. El rincón means "the corner" in Spanish. The grant, located south of present-day Chino, was bounded on the east by Rancho Jurupa, on the south by the Santa Ana River, on the west by Rancho Cañón de Santa Ana, and extending northerly from the river one league. The rancho lands include Prado Regional Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rancho La Sierra (Yorba)</span>

Rancho La Sierra was a 17,769-acre (71.91 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day Riverside County, California, United States. In 1846 governor Pio Pico issued the grant to Bernardo Yorba. The grant lay between Rancho Jurupa and Rancho El Rincon, and included the present-day city of Corona.

Rancho La Sierra was a 17,774-acre (71.93 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day Riverside County, California, United States. In 1846 Governor Pio Pico issued the grant to Vicenta Sepulveda. The rancho includes the present-day city of Norco, and the western end of Riverside.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riverside County, California</span> County in California, United States

Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the United States. The name was derived from the city of Riverside, which is the county seat.

Juan Antonio (1783–1863), Cahuilla name: Cooswootna, Yampoochee,, was a major chief of the Mountain Band of the Cahuilla from the 1840s to 1863.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jensen Alvarado Ranch</span> Historic house in California, United States

The Jensen Alvarado Ranch is a historic park and museum in Jurupa Valley, California, USA, and is operated by the Riverside County Regional Park and Open-Space District. It can be accessed from 4350 Riverview Drive, or 4307 Briggs Street. It was the first kiln-fired brick building built in Riverside County, and is the oldest non-adobe structure in the Inland Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agua Mansa, California</span> Ghost town in California, United States of America

Agua Mansa is a former settlement in an unincorporated area of San Bernardino County, near Colton, California, United States. Once the largest settlement in San Bernardino County, it is now a ghost town. Only the cemetery remains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornelius Jensen</span>

Cornelius Boy Jensen was a Danish sea captain and Californian politician. Of the nine one-year terms that he served as county supervisor between 1856 and 1877, Jensen was the Chairman of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors four times. His Agua Mansa home, the Jensen Alvarado Ranch, is a registered California Historical Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Politana or Apolitana was the first Spanish settlement in the San Bernardino Valley of California. It was established as a mission chapel and supply station by the Mission San Gabriel in the a rancheria of the Guachama Indians that lived on the bluff that is now known as Bunker Hill, near Lytle Creek. Besides the Guachama, it was also at various times the home for colonists from New Mexico and Cahuilla people. Its most prominent landmark today is the St. Prophet Elias Greek Orthodox Church on Colton Avenue, just southwest of the Inland Center Mall, in San Bernardino, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jurupa Valley, California</span> City in California, United States

Jurupa Valley is a city in the northwest corner of Riverside County, California, United States. It was the location of one of the earliest non-native settlements in the county, Rancho Jurupa. The Rancho was initially an outpost of the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, then a Mexican land grant in 1838. The name is derived from a Native American village that existed in the area prior to the arrival of Europeans.

Gavilan Hills, sometimes called the Gavilan Mountains, are a range of the Temescal Mountains, in Riverside County, California. The name given them came from local New Mexican and Californio miners of the mountains and Gavilan Plateau. In Spanish Gavilan, means "sparrow hawk".

Gavilan Plateau is a plateau in Riverside County, California. It lies at an elevation of 2083 feet on the north slope of the Temescal Mountains overlooking the Cajalco Valley south of Riverside, California.

References

  1. 1 2 Hoover, Mildred B.; Rensch, Hero E.; Rensch, Ethel G. (1966). Historic Spots in California (3 ed.). Stanford University Press. p.  294. ISBN   0-8047-4020-8.
  2. ↑ Gunther, Jane Davies (1984). Riverside County, California, place names: their origins and their stories. J.D. Gunther. p. 285.
  3. ↑ Brown, John; Boyd, James (1922). History of San Bernardino and Riverside counties: with selected biography of actors and witnesses of the period of growth and achievement. The Western Historical Association. p. 27.
  4. ↑ Dwyer, Jeff (2006). Ghost Hunter's Guide to Los Angeles. Pelican Publishing. p. 102. ISBN   1-58980-404-X.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "The Agua Mansa Pioneer Cemetery". co.san-bernardino.ca.us. San Bernardino County Museum. Archived from the original on March 18, 2011. Retrieved December 8, 2010.
  6. ↑ Mitchell, Patrick (2006). Santa Ana River Guide: From Crest to Coast – 110 Miles Along Southern California's Largest River System. 209. Santa Ana River Guide: From Crest to Coast – 110 Miles Along Southern California's Largest River System. ISBN   0-89997-411-2.
  7. 1 2 Hiltner, Nita (January 30, 2010). "Rich history found at Colton cemetery". The Press-Enterprise. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2010.
  8. ↑ Nostrand, Richard L. (1996). The Hispano Homeland. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 135. ISBN   0-8061-2889-5.
  9. ↑ Crafts, Eliza Persis Russell Robbins; McGehee, Fannie P. (1906). Pioneer days in the San Bernardino valley. Kingsley, Moles & Collins Co. p. 19. ISBN   9783849680169.
  10. ↑ Los Angeles Star, 18 September 1852. Accessed from the California Digital Newspaper Collection, http://cdnc.ucr.edu
  11. ↑ Hall, Gary. "The Lost City of the Inland Empire, Aqua Mansa". insidetheie.com. Inside the Inland Empire. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
  12. ↑ Robinson, Alicia (December 23, 2011). "Descendants hope to save historic site". The Press-Enterprise.
  13. ↑ Gunther, p. 549
  14. ↑ Morton, Ennette Y. (April 3, 2012). "City Council Memorandum:Trujillo Adobe Site Assessment Survey". Riverside Metropolitan Museum.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.