Kaawchama (''

Hispanicized Hispanicization ( es, hispanización) refers to the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by Hispanic culture or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-Hispanic becomes Hispanic. Hispanicization is il ...

'' to Guachama), alternatively referred to as Wa’aachnga ("plenty to eat"), was a significant

Tongva The Tongva ( ) are an Indigenous people of California from the Los Angeles Basin and the Southern Channel Islands, an area covering approximately . Some descendants of the people prefer Kizh as an endonym that, they argue, is more historically ...

village 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; ...

located in what is now west

Redlands, California Redlands ( ) is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 73,168, up from 68,747 at the 2010 census. The city is located approximately west of Palm Springs and east of Lo ...

. The village became referred to by the Spanish as the Guachama Rancheria in 1810 after a supply station was constructed at the village for

Mission San Gabriel Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

, which then became part of

Rancho San Bernardino Rancho San Bernardino was a Mexican land grant in present-day San Bernardino County, California given in 1842 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to José del Carmen Lugo, José María Lugo, Vicente Lugo, and Diego Sepulveda. The grant included a la ...

following the secularization of the missions in 1833.

History

Tongva village

Kaawchama was located in the far eastern reaches of Tovaangar, or the Tongvan world. Various maps of Tongvan villages place it as the easternmost village of the Tongva. The

Mohave Trail The Mohave Trail was a Native American trade route between Mohave Indian villages on the Colorado River and settlements in coastal Southern California. History Starting from Mohave villages along the Colorado River in the upper Mohave Valley, t ...

connected Kaawchama to a vast trade network that extended from villages in

southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

to the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...

. When

was constructed by the Spanish colonizers in 1771, Kaawchama was located fifty miles east from the mission, yet soon began to be eyed as a potential outpost for the mission. The village had been known by Spanish missionaries since the 1770s, yet no European structure had been constructed in the area. This was noted as a problem by the missionaries, who would travel the

without a place to refill supplies: "As travel over this road increased it was arranged to establish a supply station at some intermediate point between the Sierras on the north and the mission." In 1810, approximately one-thousand Mohave raiders traveled through the village, initially with plans to attack Mission San Gabriel. However, the raid party decided against destroying the mission and instead captured three thousand sheep. On May 10th 1810,

Francisco Dumetz Francisco Dumetz (died 14 January 1811) was a Spanish Franciscan missionary. He gave the San Bernardino Valley in California its name, in 1810. Life He was a native of Majorca, Spain, where he entered the Franciscan Order. In May, 1770, he went to ...

, a padre of Mission San Gabriel, came to the village of Kaawchama, and established the sought after supply station at the village:

They found an ideal location, in a place called Guachama, which means "plenty to eat." The valley was well watered and luxuriant with springtime verdure. The Guachama Indians had here a populous rancheria. A number of other rancherias were scattered about the valley, each bearing a name significant of the place it was situated. Many of the names were retained by settlers at a later day and applied to ranches granted by the government.

Guachama Rancheria

It was believed by some authorities that after 1812, many of the Guachama, who were associated with the Tongva people, "migrated back to Los Angeles," which opened the settlement to be occupied by the

Cahuilla The Cahuilla , also known as ʔívil̃uqaletem or Ivilyuqaletem, are a Native American people of the various tribes of the Cahuilla Nation, living in the inland areas of southern California.Serrano. Rancho San Bernardino became the headquarters of farming and cattle ranching in the area. The Guachama were taught to farm and care for cattle. Zanja trenches were made to bring water to more farm land. Guachama Rancheria from this time was called San Bernardino. In 1819 it was officially renamed

San Bernardino Rancho The San Bernardino de Sena Estancia (also known as the San Bernardino Rancho or Asistencia) was a ranch outpost of Mission San Gabriel Arcángel in what is now in Redlands, California, Redlands, California, United States. It was built to graze ca ...

of the Mission San Gabriel. Due to flooding from San Timoteo Creek, the mission was moved to higher ground in 1830. Some ruins remain at the site.Marker Database, 'Guachama Rancheria
/ref>San Bernardino, Pageant of History Begins to Unfold, By L. BURR BELDEN, Sun-Telegram Historical Writer, 1960
/ref>Schuiling, Walter C. ''San Bernardino County: Land of Contrasts, Windsor Publications'', 1984, p. 26

Rancho San Bernardino

In 1842, Mexico Governor

Juan B. Alvarado Juan Bautista Valentín Alvarado y Vallejo (February 14, 1809 – July 13, 1882) was a Californio politician that served as Governor of Alta California from 1837-42. Prior to his term as governor, Alvarado briefly led a movement for independen ...

gave a

Mexican land grant The Spanish and Mexican governments made many concessions and land grants in Alta California (now known as California) and Baja California from 1775 to 1846. The Spanish Concessions of land were made to retired soldiers as an inducement for ...

José del Carmen Lugo José del Carmen Lugo (1813 – c. 1870) was a major 19th century Californio landowner in Southern California. History He was born in 1813 at the Pueblo de Los Angeles, in Spanish colonial Alta California, then a province of the Viceroyalt ...

, José María Lugo, Vicente Lugo, and Diego Sepulveda, forming the

. The grant covered of what today is part of the San Bernardino valley,

San Bernardino San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a ...

Fontana Fontana may refer to: Places Italy *Fontana Liri, comune in the Province of Frosinone *Fontanafredda, comune in the Province of Pordenone *Fontanarosa, comune in the Province of Avellino *Francavilla Fontana, comune in the Province of Brindisi * ...

Rialto The Rialto is a central area of Venice, Italy, in the ''sestiere'' of San Polo. It is, and has been for many centuries, the financial and commercial heart of the city. Rialto is known for its prominent markets as well as for the monumental Rialto ...

, Redlands and Colton. Caballeria y Collell, Juan, HISTORY OF SAN BERNARDINO VALLEY, from the padres to the pioneers, 1810-1851, Times-Index Press, San Bernardino, Cal., 1902.
/ref>

Memorialization

In 1933, the site was designated a

California Historic 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.95), listed as ''Guachama Rancheria'', on March 29, 1933. A marker was placed at 25894 Mission Road, Loma Linda, California. Translated from the

name, "Guachama" means a "place where there is plenty to eat". There were fresh springs and creeks in the area, thus providing ample food. Marker at the site reads: *''NO. 95 GUACHAMA RANCHERIA - Guachama Rancheria, renamed San Bernardino on May 20, 1810 by Francisco Dumetz, became the San Bernardino Rancho of the Mission San Gabriel in 1819. The adobe administration building stood 70 yards north of this spot, an enramada served as the chapel, and a zanja was constructed to bring water from the mountains for irrigation. Control by mission fathers ended in 1834." Erected 1932 by Arrowhead Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution.

References