San Bernardino County, California

San Bernardino county lies south of Inyo, and extends from Los Angeles and Kern counties on the west to the Arizona line; it ranks first in size among the counties, and has an area of 21,172 square miles. The population by the United States census of 1880 was 7,786, but so great has been the influx of immigrants that it is now estimated to have 33,000. San Bernardino, the county seat, is an old town settled by the Mormons, which has suddenly developed, within three years, into an important city, with many costly buildings and a population of 10,000. Other important towns are Riverside, the seat of extensive orange groves and raisin vineyards, Colton, Cucamonga, Redlands. The eastern part of the county includes portions of the Mojave and Colorado Desert, but thousands of acres of what was once regarded as hopelessly sterile have been reclaimed by artesian wells. The southwestern section is very fertile, and with irrigation produces all kinds of fruits, grain and vegetables. Wheat-growing, once the leading industry, has given place to orange and grape culture, and the growing of deciduous fruits and vegetables. San Bernardino produces the finest oranges in the state. Immense irrigation works have been constructed; the largest reservoir is at the head of Bear creek, and is six miles long by three-quarters of a mile wide. Other important industries are mining and lumbering. The assessed valuation in 1889 was $23,267,955 against $8,089,305 for 1886.

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Source: California State Gazetteer and Business Directory 1890, Volume II, R. L. Polk & Company, 1890.