What are facts about the Mormons settling San Bernardino?

Answer 1

Brigham Young sent 500 Mormons to California in 1851. In September, they purchased el Rancho San Bernardino from Lugo. The Rancho included most of modern San Bernardino (some of the northern areas of the City were part of Rancho Muscupiabe). The price for 40,000 acres was $77,000 with $7,000 down.


The Mormons built Fort San Bernardino. Inside the fort, they had small stores, and outside, they grew wheat and other crops. They later moved outside the walls of the fort when feared-attacks did not materialize. The Mormon Council House was built in 1852. It was used as the post office, school, church, and was the county courthouse from 1854 to 1858.


In 1853, The Mormons laid out the current street grid system, one mile (1.6 km) square, which is based upon the grid layout of Salt Lake City. Each block was 8 acres (32,000 m2). The east west streets were numbered, from First Street to Ninth Street. The Mormons also built a road in 1853 to Los Angeles. The Mormons were also responsible for the school system, creating Warm Springs, a school still in use today, as well as a school at the present site of Pioneer Park.


The City of San Bernardino was first incorporated on April 1, 1854. At incorporation, there were approximately 1,200 residents, 900 of them Mormons. They dominated local politics and forbade drinking and gambling. Mormons created the first timber road to the mountains, and a flour mill. In 1855, they diverted water from Waterman Canyon to Town Creek by means of a flume. The Mormons created a temple block (but never a temple) in the center of the newly-laid out town between present-day 5th, 6th, E, and F Streets. They created a "Public Square," in which they celebrated the 4th of July.


The Mormons named the Arrowhead, California, a natural rock formation above Arrowhead Springs, the "Ace of Spades." On a clear day, the Arrowhead can be seen from downtown San Bernardino. A small Jewish community formed in Mormon San Bernardino.


In 1857, the community failed, and Brigham Young recalled the settlers back to Salt Lake City. The reason for the failure of the community cannot be found in just one underlying cause and is the subject of much historical debate.