Etiwanda is the easternmost of three formerly unincorporated communities that became part of

Rancho Cucamonga Rancho Cucamonga was a Ranchos of California, 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 gra ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, 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: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

and William Chaffey 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, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that enables 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 ...

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 Upland or Uplands may refer to: Geography *Hill, an area of higher land, generally *Highland, an area of higher land divided into low and high points *Upland and lowland, conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level *I ...

by December 1913, on a line that connected

San Bernardino San Bernardino ( ) is a city in and the 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 census, making it the List of ...

to the east with the greater

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

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 Chaffey Joint Union High School District is a 9–12 school district located in San Bernardino County, California, United States that serves the communities of Ontario, Montclair, Rancho Cucamonga, and portions of Fontana, Upland, Chino, and ...

Notes

External links

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070128004732/http://www.ci.rancho-cucamonga.ca.us/index.htm City of Rancho Cucamonga, California">for an explanation of how to generate footnotes using the and tags and the tag below -->