California State Historical Landmarks - Riverside County

Properties of historical importance in California are currently designated as significant resources in three state registration programs: State Historical Landmarks, Points of Historical Interest, and the California Register of Historic Places.  Below is a list of the State Historical Landmarks for Riverside County.  This data is provided by the Office of Historic Preservation - California Department of Parks and Recreation and is also available in the California Historical Landmarks Book.
 

   NO. 1005 SANTA ROSA RANCHO - Located on the Santa Rosa Plateau Preserve, the historical site of the Santa Rosa Rancho is a prime example of various historical phases of cattle ranching in Southern California. Archeological evidence gathered from the site indicates that various bands of Luiseño Indians established village and religious sites on the land. No other historic rancho site in Southern California retains so much of its original setting undisturbed.
Location:  22115 Tenaja Rd, intersection Clinton Keith Rd and Tenaja Rd, Murieta

   NO. 1009 RAMONA BOWL, SITE OF THE RAMONA PAGEANT - Within this valley was laid part of the scene, and here resided a number of the characters portrayed in Helen Hunt Jackson's historical novel, 'Ramona,' which depicted life and presented the status of the Indians on many great ranchos in early California beginning around the 1850s. The story, dramatized by the late Garnet Holme, was first presented on this site April 13, 1923, becoming an annual event.
Location:  27400 Ramona Bowl Rd, Hemet

   NO. 101 GIANT DESERT FIGURES - Times of origin and meaning of these giant figures, the largest of which is 167 feet long and the smallest 95 feet, remain a mystery. There are three figures, two of animals and one of a coiled serpent, and some interesting lines. (Sandstone pebbles glazed on one side with 'desert varnish,' strewn over the surface of the mesa, have been moved away, leaving the earth forming the figures, the pebbles were placed in windrows about the edge as an outline.)
Location:  On Hwy 95 (P.M. 15.3), 16 mi N of Blythe

   NO. 102 SITE OF LOUIS RUBIDOUX HOUSE - In 1844 Louis Rubidoux arrived in California with his family and, shortly thereafter, purchased the Jurupa Rancho. He became one of the most prosperous stock raisers in Southern California, and also planted orchards and vineyards, raised grain, built the first grist mill in the area, and operated a winery.
Location:  5575 block, Mission Blvd, Rubidoux

   NO. 104 SITE OF INDIAN VILLAGE OF POCHEA - Pochea was one of a cluster of Indian villages forming the very large settlement of Pahsitnah, which extended along the ridge east and west of Ramona Bowl. Pahsitnah was thriving when the Spanish first passed by in 1774. A tragic story tells of the natives contracting smallpox from Europeans, a terrible epidemic spreading, and some survivors fleeing to the area of the present Soboba Reservation.
Location:  Ramona Bowl, 27400 S Girard St, Hemet, plaque located near restrooms

   NO. 185 SERRANO BOULDER - As early as 1818, Don Leandro Serrano had cattle, sheep, cultivated land, and orchards in Temescal Valley. The boulder placed by residents of Temescal Valley marks the site of the first house in Riverside County, erected by Leandro Serrano about May 1824.
Location:  From I-15, take Old Temescal Canyon Rd S 0.4 mi to Lawson Rd, then go W 0.2 mi to dirt rd, then S 0.1 mi to site, 9 mi S of Corona

   NO. 186 SERRANO TANNING VATS - Nearby, two vats were built in 1819 by the Luiseño Indians under the direction of Leandro Serrano, first non-Indian settler in what is now Riverside County. The vats were used in making leather from cow hides. In 1981 the vats were restored and placed here by the Billy Holcomb
Chapter of E Clampus Vitus.
Location:  NW corner of I-15 and Old Temescal Rd, 8 mi SE of Corona
USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name:  CORONA SOUTH

   NO. 187 CARVED ROCK - The petroglyphs were carved by the Luiseño Indians, their meaning is said to be: 'A chief died here. These are his plumes, his portrait, his sign, and the animals sacred to him.' The Luiseño Indians who lived in Temescal Valley belonged to the Shoshoean linguistic group. The rock has been damaged by vandals.
Location:  In canyon, 0.4 mi N of I-15 (P.M. 32.5), 8 mi S of Corona

   NO. 188 BUTTERFIELD STAGE STATION - Site of Butterfield Stage Station where mail was delivered and horses changed. The first stage carrying overland mail left Tipton, Missouri on September 15, 1858 and, passing through Temescal, arrived in Los Angeles October 7, 1858.
Location:  20730 Temescal Canyon Rd, 7 mi S of Corona

   NO. 190 PAINTED ROCK - In tribute to the earliest record of any people in this region, the Santa Fe Railway has preserved this rock with its ancient pictograph, and the Committee of the Corona Women's Improvement Club has placed this tablet.
Location:  From Temescal Canyon Rd, go 0.1 mi NE on Dawson Canyon Rd, then go 0.1 mi E on Gravel Pit Rd, then 0.2 mi S along railroad track berm, site is
50 ft W of berm, 7 mi S of Corona

   NO. 1O3 SITE OF DE ANZA CAMP, MARCH 1774 - On March 16, 1774, Juan Bautista de Anza, explorer and colonizer, led the first non-Indian explorers to cross the mountains into California through this pass (named by him San Carlos) on their way from Tubac, Arizona to Monterey. On December 27, 1775, on a second expedition into California, Anza led through this pass the party of Spaniards from Sonora who became the founders of San Francisco.
Location:  On Cary Ranch 609O1 Coyote Canyon Rd, 7 mi SW of Anza
USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name:  IDYLLWILD 15

   NO. 20 PARENT WASHINGTON NAVEL ORANGE TREE - The tree was introduced into the United States from Bahia, Brazil, by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1870. Twelve young trees were received and buds from them were propagated on sweet orange seedlings. In 1873 two of these greenhouse-grown trees, which were distributed throughout the United States, were sent to Mrs. Eliza Tibbets in Riverside.
Location:  City Park, SW corner of Magnolia and Arlington Sts, Riverside
USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name:  RIVERSIDE WEST

   NO. 224 RUINS OF THIRD SERRANO ADOBE - Don Leandro Serrano set out orchards and vineyards and cultivated some of the fertile lands of the Temescal Valley. In the 1840s he built his third adobe, which the Serrano family occupied until 1898, on the well-traveled road between San Diego and Los Angeles.
Location:  NE corner of I-15 and Old Temescal Road, 8 mi SE of Corona

   NO. 3O3 SITE OF OLD RUBIDOUX GRIST MILL - One of the first grist mills in this part of Southern California was built by Louis Rubidoux on the Rancho Jurupa in 1846-47. Then the only mill there of its kind, it supplied a great need. Louis Rubidoux, a pioneer builder, was one of the first permanent American citizens in the valley.
Location:  5540 Molina Way, Rubidoux

   NO. 557 HEMET MAZE STONE - This pictograph, representing a maze, is an outstanding example of the work of prehistoric peoples. It, with 5.75 acres of  land, was donated to Riverside County as a county park on April 16, 1956 by Mr. and Mrs. Rodger E. Miller.
Location:  From State Hwy 74, go N 3.2 mi on California Ave to Maze Stone Park, Hemet

   NO. 638 OLD TEMESCAL ROAD - This route was used by Luiseño and Gabrieleno Indians, whose villages were nearby. Leandro Serrano established a home here in 1820. Jackson and Warner traveled the road in 1831, and Frémont in 1848. It was the southern emigrant road for gold seekers from 1849 to 1851, the Overland Mail route from 1858 to 1861, and a military road between Los Angeles and San Diego from 1861 to 1865.
Location:  On Old Hwy 71, 0.9 mi S of I-15 and Temescal Canyon Rd interchange, 11 mi S of Corona

   NO. 738 CORONA FOUNDERS MONUMENT - R. B. Taylor, George L. Joy, Samuel Merrill, A. S. Garretson, and Adolph Rimpau, after purchasing lands of La Sierra Rancho and El Temescal grant, founded the citrus colony and town of Corona on May 4, 1886.
Location:  Corona City Park, 100 block of 6th St (Hwy 71), Corona

   NO. 749 SAAHATPA - Chief Juan Antonio and his band of Cahuilla Indians helped white settlers in the San Bernardino area defend their property and livestock against outlaws during the 1840s and 1850s. In late 1851, Juan Antonio, his warriors and their families, settled at nearby Saahatpa. During the winter of 1862-63, a smallpox epidemic swept through Southern California killing many Native Americans, including Juan Antonio. Cahuilla tradition asserts that the U.S. Government sent Army blankets that were contaminated with smallpox. After this disaster, Saahatpa was abandoned.
Location:  Brookside Rest Area, W-bound I-10, 3 mi W of junction of I-10 and Hwy 60

   NO. 761 MISSION INN - Frank A. Miller (1857-1935) made the adobe bricks for a small 12-room guest house that he opened in 1876. Over the years he added to the building to create this remarkable Mission Revival style building.
Location:  7th between Main and Orange, Riverside
USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name:  RIVERSIDE EAST

   NO. 787 DE ANZA CROSSING OF THE SANTA ANA RIVER, 1775 AND 1776 - On January 1, 1776, the first party of colonists to come overland to the Pacific Coast crossed the Santa Ana River south of this marker and camped between here and the river. Recruited in the presidios of Sonora, Mexico and led by Lieutenant Colonel Juan Bautista de Anza, who had established the trail a year earlier, this humble and heroic band of 242 men, women, and children continued north to found San Francisco, thus setting a boundary to Russian expansion from the north. Prior to the opening of de Anza's trail, three precarious missions were maintained by uncertain ocean voyages, the flourishing missions and ranchos of Spanish California sprang from the droves of cattle, sheep, and horses brought over the trail.
Location:  Site is near Union Pacific Bridge, Jurupa Heights, plaque is located between clubhouse and No. 1 tee, Jurupa Hills Country Club Golf Course, 6161
Moraga Ave, Riverside

   NO. 943 CORNELIUS AND MERCEDES JENSON RANCH - Danish sea captain Cornelius Jensen sailed to San Francisco during the Gold Rush to sell his cargo. In 1854 he settled in Agua Mansa, established a store, and married Mercedes Alvarado, a descendant of a pioneer Californio family. The Jensens purchased this ranch in 1865 and began planting vineyards and orchards. They used local materials to build their house which is of Danish vernacular design. The Jensens made this ranch an important civic, social, business, and agricultural center.
Location:  4350 Riverview Dr, Rubidoux

   NO. 948 SITE OF BLYTHE INTAKE - On July 17, 1877, Thomas Blythe, a San Francisco financier, filed the first legal claim for Colorado River water rights. Oliver Callaway planned a diversion dam and canal which opened in 1877 to irrigate the Palo Verde Valley. This made possible the settlement and development of the valley.
Location:  Intake Service, on US. Hwy 95, 4.5 mi N of Blythe at entrance to Palo Verde Diversion Dam

   NO. 985 DESERT TRAINING CENTER, CALIFORNIA-ARIZONA MANEUVER AREA (ESTABLISHED BY MAJOR GENERAL GEORGE
S. PATTON, JR.) - CAMP GRANITE - Camp Granite was established at this site in the Spring of 1942. See previous entry for full description.
Location:  45 mi E of Indio on I-10, N on Hwy 177 approx 25 mi, rt on Hwy 62 for 5.4 mi

   NO. 985 DESERT TRAINING CENTER, CALIFORNIA-ARIZONA MANEUVER AREA (ESTABLISHED BY MAJOR GENERAL GEORGE
S. PATTON, JR.) - CAMP YOUNG - The D.T.C. was established by Major General George S. Patton, Jr., in response to a need to train American combat troops for battle in North Africa during World War II. The camp, which began operation in 1942, covered 18,000 square miles. It was the largest military training ground ever to exist. Over one million men were trained at the eleven sub-camps (seven in California).
Location:  General Patton Memorial Museum, Chiriaco Summit, from Interstate 10 exit N at Chiriaco Summit, 28 mi E of Indio

   NO. 985 DESERT TRAINING CENTER, CALIFORNIA-ARIZONA MANEUVER AREA (ESTABLISHED BY MAJOR GENERAL GEORGE
S. PATTON, JR.) - CAMP PILOT KNOB - Camp Pilot Knob was a unit of the Desert Training Center, established by General George S. Patton, Jr., to  prepare American troops for battle during World War II. It was the largest military training ground ever to exist. At the peak of activity here at Pilot Knob,  June-December, 1943, the 85th Infantry Division, and the 36th and 44th Reconnaissance Squadrons of the 11th (Mechanized) Cavalry trained here for roles in the  liberation of Europe, 1944-45.
Location:  On Sidewinder Rd, 200 yards N of I-8, Town of Felicity

   NO. 985 DESERT TRAINING CENTER, CALIFORNIA-ARIZONA MANEUVER AREA (ESTABLISHED BY MAJOR GENERAL GEORGE
S. PATTON, JR.) - CAMP IBIS - Camp Ibis was established at this site in the Spring of 1942-one of eleven such camps built in the California-Arizona Desert to  harden and train United States Troops for service on the battlefields of World War II. The 440th AAA AW Battalion was activated per General Order No. 1 at  Camp Haan, CA on July 1, 1942. It trained at Camp M.A.A.R. (Irwin), Camps Young, Iron Mountain, Ibis, and then Camps Pickett, VA and Steward, GA. The  battalion shipped out to England in December 1943 and landed in Normandy on D-3. The unit earned 5 Battle Stars and 2 Foreign Awards while serving with the
1st, 3rd, 7th, and 9th U.S. Armies, the 1st French Army and the 2nd British Army, 7 different corps and 5 different divisions. The 440th AAA AW BN was  deactivated in December 1944.
Location:  8 mi E of Needles on Hwy 40 go N on Hwy 95 1.9 mi

   NO. 989 SOVIET TRANSPOLAR LANDING SITE - Three miles west of this site, on July 14, 1937, three Soviet aviators completed a transpolar flight  from Moscow in 62 hours, 17 minutes, establishing a new world's nonstop distance record of 6,305 miles. The huge single-engine aircraft, an Ant-25 Military  Reconnaissance Monoplane, was shipped back to the Soviet Union and placed in a museum. Aircraft commander Mikhail Gromov, co-pilot Andrei Yumashev and  navigator Sergei Danilin became generals in World War II.
Location:  Near intersection of Cottonwood and Sanderson Sts, W of San Jacinto

   NO. 992 SITE OF CONTRACTOR'S GENERAL HOSPITAL - In 1933, Dr. Sidney R. Garfield opened Contractor's General Hospital six miles west of  here. His modest facility successfully delivered health care to Colorado River Aqueduct workers through a prepaid insurance plan. Later, in association with  industrialist Henry J. Kaiser, Dr. Garfield applied the lessons he first learned at the hospital to create his enduring legacy: Kaiser Permanente, the nation's largest  nonprofit prepaid health care program.
Location:  Next to post office, Ragsdale Rd, Desert Center