Etiwanda is the easternmost of three formerly

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

communities that became part of

Rancho Cucamonga Rancho Cucamonga was a Mexican land grant in present-day San Bernardino County, California, given in 1839 to the dedicated soldier, smuggler and politician Tiburcio Tapia by Mexican governor Juan Bautista Alvarado. The grant formed parts of pr ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, in 1977.City of Rancho Cucamonga: "History of Rancho Cucamonga"Hickcox, Robert L.: "Dates in the History of Etiwanda, California"

History

In November 1881

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

and

William Chaffey William Benjamin Chaffey, CMG (21 October 1856 – 4 June 1926) was a Canadian engineer and irrigation planner who with his older brother George Chaffey developed what became the cities of Etiwanda, California, Ontario, California, and Upla ...

purchased the land from Joseph Garcia, a retired Portuguese sea captain. The town was named for a Native American tribe living on the shores of Lake Michigan. As the first town planned by the Chaffey brothers, Etiwanda became their test bed. The Etiwanda Water Company, a mutual water company, and pipe system of irrigation designed by George Chaffey became the standard for water system management in southern California. Two other events are a further testament to the Chaffeys' innovation. The first long-distance

telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...

call in southern California was completed between San Bernardino and Etiwanda in 1882 and the Chaffey-Garcia house boasted electric lights on December 4, 1882. The

Pacific Electric Railway The Pacific Electric Railway Company, nicknamed the Red Cars, was a privately owned mass transit system in Southern California consisting of electrically powered streetcars, interurban cars, and buses and was the largest electric railway system ...

, the "Big Red Cars", reached Etiwanda in 1914, with rails reaching Etiwanda from Upland by December 1913, on a line that connected

San Bernardino San Bernardino (; Spanish for "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 population of 222,101 in the 2020 cen ...

to the east with the greater

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

basin to the west. The line opened on March 24, 1914. Regular passenger operations ended on November 1, 1941, although specials operated for several years, especially during World War II. On October 1, 1951, the San Bernardino line was completely dieselized and the trolley wire was removed shortly thereafter. As of 2011, the 1914-vintage PE passenger station is being restored to an as-constructed state.

Education

The community of Etiwanda has elementary, middle, and high schools that are part of the Etiwanda School District and Chaffey Joint Union High School District.

External links

City of Rancho Cucamonga, California

Notes

References

* *{{cite web , last = Hickcox , first = Robert L. , authorlink = , author2=Chaffey High School , title = Dates in the History of Etiwanda, California , publisher = , date = 1981-09-23 , url = http://www.chaffey.org/community/etiwanda/dates_in_the_history_of_etiwanda">for an explanation of how to generate footnotes using the and tags and the tag below -->