Agua Mansa ("gentle water")
is a former settlement in an unincorporated area of
San Bernardino County
San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...
, near
Colton, California, United States. Once the largest settlement in San Bernardino County, it is now a
ghost town
Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to:
* Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned
Film and television
* Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser
* Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...
. Only the cemetery remains.
The town was established in 1842 in early California
Alta California
Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New California') among other names, was a province of New Spain, formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but ...
.
It was on the
Santa Ana River
The Santa Ana River is the largest river entirely within Southern California in the United States. It rises in the San Bernardino Mountains and flows for most of its length through San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, before cutting through ...
, across from the era settlement of
La Placita.
Agua Mansa and La Placita were the first non-native settlements in the
San Bernardino Valley
The San Bernardino Valley ( es, Valle de San Bernardino) 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; ...
.
Together known as "San Salvador",
they were also the largest settlements between
Santa Fe de Nuevo México
Santa Fe de Nuevo México ( en, Holy Faith of New Mexico; shortened as Nuevo México or Nuevo Méjico, and translated as New Mexico in English) was a Kingdom of the Spanish Empire and New Spain, and later a territory of independent Mexico. The ...
and the
Pueblo de Los Ángeles
El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles (English language, English: ''The town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels''), shortened to Pueblo de los Ángeles, was the Spanish civilian ''Municipality, pueblo'' settled in 1781, which ...
in the 1840s.
Geography
The Agua Mansa Valley is located on the south side of
Slover Mountain
Slover Mountain (Mount Slover, Marble Mountain) is a former mountain in Colton, in southwestern San Bernardino County and the Inland Empire region of Southern California. Now a hill, it was surface mined for limestone in the 20th century. The Co ...
.
The valley was in length; its width varied between and , the variance depending on the river that flowed through the valley. The area was used as farmland, divided into at least one hundred fields, owned by separate ranchers. The valley's lower end included a
Frémont's cottonwoods (''Populus fremontii'') riparian forest
A riparian forest or riparian woodland is a forested or wooded area of land adjacent to a body of water such as a river, stream, pond, lake, marshland, estuary, canal, sink or reservoir.
Etymology
The term riparian comes from the Latin word '' ...
owned by Rubidoux, while the upper end was a sandy plain that extended to the borders of present-day San Bernardino.
History
In 1845, Don
Juan Bandini
Juan Bandini (1800 – November 4, 1859) was a Peruvian-born Californio public figure, politician, and ranchero. He is best known for his role in the development of San Diego in the mid-19th century.
Early history
Bandini was born in 1800 in Lima ...
donated parts of his land grant
Rancho Jurupa Rancho 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. Located along both banks ...
to a group of New Mexican colonists led by Santiago Martinez, and Manuel Lorenzo Trujillo from
Abiquiú in
Santa Fe de Nuevo México
Santa Fe de Nuevo México ( en, Holy Faith of New Mexico; shortened as Nuevo México or Nuevo Méjico, and translated as New Mexico in English) was a Kingdom of the Spanish Empire and New Spain, and later a territory of independent Mexico. The ...
— on the condition that they would provide in protection from local Indian raids, in exchange for land, "Civil Militia" Ten of these families moved to on the "Bandini Donation" on the east side of the Santa Ana River, forming the village of La Placita, while a second group colonized the west side of the river, forming the town of Agua Mansa.
The group that formed Agua Mansa was led by Santiago Martinez, Manuel Lorenzo Martinez and Hipilito Garcia, and included
Cristobal Slover and
Louis Rubidoux
Louis Rubidoux (1796–1868, born Louis Robidoux) 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 Ra ...
.
After the adobe church built in La Placita in 1852 collapsed in
quicksand
Quicksand is a colloid
A colloid is a mixture in which one substance consisting of microscopically dispersed insoluble particles is suspended throughout another substance. Some definitions specify that the particles must be dispersed in a ...
, 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
The Great Flood of 1862 was the largest flood in the recorded history of Oregon, Nevada, and California, occurring from December 1861 to January 1862. It was preceded by weeks of continuous rains and snows in the very high elevations that began in ...
.
The parish, which included Agua Mansa and La Placita, became known as San Salvador de Jurupa, and was the first non-mission parish in Southern California.
The chapel's bell now hangs at the
Glenwood Mission Inn.
The town prospered for almost 20 years until the
1862 flooding swept away many of the
adobe
Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for ''mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of e ...
buildings, leaving the area strewn with sand and gravel. Though the town was rebuilt on higher ground, its prosperity did not return.
Built in 1870 in Agua Mansa, the
Jensen Alvarado Ranch
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 wa ...
is a
California Historical Landmark
A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance.
Criteria
Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...
and is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
. Its vineyard produced and sold thousands of gallons of wine each year.
Agua Mansa Pioneer Cemetery
![Varied 869 (5293493481)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/Varied_869_%285293493481%29.jpg)
Agua Mansa is designated
California Historical Landmark
A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance.
Criteria
Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...
(No. 121).
The marker is located at Agua Mansa Pioneer Cemetery, the only site that remains of the once flourishing town.
[ The first burial occurred in 1852, and the last occurred 111 years later in 1963.] It has a museum and chapel, and tours are available.
Records of who is buried in the cemetery are incomplete but about 1,400 (as of October 2018) names have been identified out of a total of 2,000 estimated burials. Only a few grave markers remain today. The earliest known interment was that of Louis Rubidoux
Louis Rubidoux (1796–1868, born Louis Robidoux) 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 Ra ...
, who came to California in 1844 and bought the Jurupa Rancho near today's City of Riverside. Another burial was that of Cornelius Jensen
Cornelius Boy Jensen (September 29, 1814 – December 12, 1886) 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 Bernardin ...
in 1886; Jensen was a Danish sea captain who established a store at Agua Mansa before moving to part of the Robidoux ranch. Jensen's wife, Mercedes Alvarado, is also buried in the cemetery along with other members of her family. Lorenzo Trujillo, the original patriarch of the community, is also believed to rest somewhere in a grave that long ago lost its marker. Isaac Slover
Isaac Slover (1780–1854) was an American 19th century fur trader. He was one of the first American trappers officially allowed into New Mexico, as part of the Glenn-Fowler Expedition of Hugh Glenn and Jacob Fowler. He was one of the first tra ...
, a mountain man and bear hunter who came to California in his old age (and who was killed in 1854 by a bear), is also buried in the cemetery.
California Historical Landmark Marker
*''This historic site marks the resting place of the pioneers of the Agua Mansa area which was started about 1840. The preservation of this cemetery began in 1951.'' Erected 1961 by Jurupa Palor No. 296 Native Daughters of the Golden West. (Marker Number 121.)
Artistic portrayals
Agua Mansa is the namesake of a fictional town in Southern California in the contemporary novel ''Still Water Saints'' by writer Alex Espinoza
Alex A. Espinoza (born May 31, 1964) is a former National Football League quarterback who played for one season with the Kansas City Chiefs. He went to college at Iowa State after transferring from Cal State-Fullerton. During the strike shortene ...
.
See also
*
References
External links
*
San Bernardino County Museum.gov: Agua Mansa Pioneer Cemetery
{{San Bernardino County, California
Former settlements in San Bernardino County, California
Populated places on the Santa Ana River
Cemeteries in California
Colton, California
California Historical Landmarks
Ghost towns in California
History of San Bernardino County, California
Populated places established in 1845
1845 establishments in Alta California
Museums in San Bernardino County, California