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10/07/2026

Here is my column written for the Southern California News Group that appeared on September 22, 2026

09/13/2026

On Saturday, October 3, 2026, from 9:30 AM to 12:00 PM, a tour will be held at the Pioneer Memorial Cemetery, located at 211 East 9th Street in San Bernardino. During the tour, we will visit gravesites and share the stories of some of San Bernardino's pioneers.

The event is open to the public with a $20 suggested donation, and children under 10 are free. Please see the attached flyer for more details.

I hope to see you there!

09/08/2026

The history of the Inland Empire is filled with a plethora of interesting pioneers and noted personalities who made huge impacts in this region. However, there is one individual who left an incredible legacy that seemingly has gone under the radar for many local residents both past and present. This “unsung hero” was Howard E. Jones.
Jones was a prominent architect and structural engineer whose expertise profoundly shaped the physical and civic landscape in the city of San Bernardino from the 1920s through the 1950s. During this time, he designed iconic public and educational landmarks that defined the region's architectural identity.
Born in San Bernardino on September 27, 1885, Jones grew up in a vastly growing Southern California. Guided by his uncle Charles H. Jones of the prominent architectural firm Jones and Palmer, he began his immersion in building design as a draftsman.
Jones later moved to Los Angeles to work under leading commercial architects, including Norman F. Marsh, where he refined his mastery of structural engineering and spatial planning. Unconventionally for the era, Jones secured his full architectural license and structural engineering credentials largely through rigorous independent study and correspondence courses.
By 1920, he returned to his roots in San Bernardino and opened his own practice, stepping into a booming regional economy primed for institutional development.
Jones’s most profound impact in San Bernardino’s history lies in his civic and commercial buildings. These structures included the Municipal Auditorium in 1923, the Frank C. Platt Building in 1925, the Enterprise (originally known as the Andreson) Building in 1927 and the Harris Company, also in 1927.
In 1926, Howard Jones created his masterpiece… San Bernardino County’s 3rd Courthouse.
When Jones received the contract to design this building in 1925, he was nearing his 40th birthday and at the peak of his career. This was a big job for the young architect, and it was a major commitment by the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors. The project was estimated to be $450,000, far and away more than anything the taxpayers had spent for a single building up to that time.
The July 22, 1923, earthquake damaged several county buildings, with the previous courthouse, hall of records and county hospital chief among them.

The Supervisors first consulted structural engineers from Los Angeles, who recommended the removal of the clock tower and northwest tower. There were also numerous cracks throughout the rest of the building. The Supervisors then asked Jones to submit cost estimates for upgrading the old structure, but they eventually decided to replace it with a new one.

On December 18, 1926, it was announced that San Bernardino County’s 3rd courthouse had been completed. The total cost ended up being $700,000, which included landscaping, moving the furnishings, and other unspecified associated costs.

Jones proudly announced that the architecture of the edifice is classical Italian Renaissance, featured by a colonnade of eight stone columns, each twenty-six feet in height, and the colonnade itself being 100 feet wide.

It was built as a “Class A” structure of reinforced concrete, and richly wrought with marble, art stone and other enhancements. Marble was used for the staircases, bronze for the doors, and the ceilings were richly decorated in pastel colors and gold leaf.

When the construction of the new courthouse was completed, the Los Angeles Times raved how local architect Howard E. Jones' newest creation would be one of the most beautiful in Southern California. On Dec. 18, 1926 the paper reported:
NEW SAN BERNARDINO COURT HOUSE COMPLETED. Erected at a total cost of $700,000, San Bernardino County's new courthouse is now finished and ready for occupancy. Built as a class A structure of reinforced concrete, the new courthouse is richly wrought with marble, art stone and other structural beautifiers. Marble was used for the staircases, bronze for the doors; the ceilings are richly decorated in pastel colors and gold leaf.
The structure is still standing today---100 years later--at the corner of Arrowhead Avenue and Court Street. It became the second structure to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places on January 12, 1998.
With the opening of the new 11-story San Bernardino Justice Center in 2014, the old courthouse is now used only for family law and probate.
Beyond civic halls, Jones left an indelible mark on regional education. In the mid-1920s, he served as a primary architect for San Bernardino Valley Union Junior College (now San Bernardino Valley College), designing foundational structures like the Life Science and Classics buildings. Incorporating refined tile work, classical symmetry, and durable regional materials, these academic facilities provided an architectural anchor for higher learning in the local community.

Jones also designed numerous regional educational facilities, such as:
• Lincoln Elementary School
• Harding Elementary School
• Riley Elementary School
• Woodrow Wilson Elementary School
• Marshall Elementary School
• Sturges Junior High School (designed alongside DeWitt Mitcham)
•
When Jones retired in the mid-1950s, he left behind a physical legacy that nurtured the next wave of regional designers. Notably, post-war modernists like architect Harris A. Day worked under Jones upon arriving in the Inland Empire in 1950, absorbing his foundational approach before introducing mid-century modernism to neighboring Redlands. Howard E. Jones remains a pillar of Inland Empire history, having translated the raw ambitions of a growing desert-mountain gateway into a legacy of brick, stone, and civic pride.

San Bernardino architect Howard E. Jones died on July 31,1966 and was buried in his hometown’s Mt. View Cemetery.

You can contact Nick Cataldo at [email protected] and read more of his local history articles at Facebook.com/BackRoadsPress.

08/06/2026

Soon after the first streets in San Bernardino were laid out during the early 1850’s, the young town’s population seemingly mushroomed overnight. A number of people felt a bit cluster phobic living within the one mile- square- Mormon community, not to mention concerns regarding water rights and other political issues. These non-conformists sought open land on the outskirts of town and started up little communities…the building blocks of today’s city of San Bernardino.
My history column written for the Southern California News Group is about two of these communities.

Two settlements outside San Bernardino in the 1850's focused on irrigation, farming.

Once Mormon colonists arriving from Salt Lake City laid out the first streets in San Bernardino, the young town’s population seemingly mushroomed overnight. By the mid- 1850’s a number of people felt a bit cluster phobic living within the one mile- square- Mormon community, so they moseyed on to some open land east of what is now Waterman Avenue and formed two small villages.

Those who filtered in near the channel of City Creek (so named because it was an earlier proposed San Bernardino town site) started up the City Creek Settlement. Pioneers such as David Seely found the soil so moist that deep-rooted plants could flourish through sub irrigation. In fact, the “Seely Place” eventually accounted for 600 bearing oranges, 4,000 nursery trees, 7,000 Muscat grape vines and 20 acres of apricot, nectarine, fig, peach, and walnut trees.

The Timber Settlement was located further south of City Creek. This larger offshoot village grew among a heavy stand of cottonwood trees growing near the north bank of the Santa Ana River. Farmers there enjoyed the benefit of soil naturally moistened by the river.

Because of the natural river moisture, the earliest landowners were able to establish highly productive farmlands. The settlement was heavily tied to the mountain logging industry, as timber was a lucrative staple in Southern California.

According to the late author/ historian Richard Thompson, one of the first landowners in the area was Aaron Lane who bought 20 acres of farmland northwest of today’s Mill Street and Sterling Ave. Francis Goll and Edwin Hueston, who became his neighbors to the west and east, respectively, soon followed him.

By early 1856, the two communities recognized the need for additional water in case of a drought. In May of that year the residents, under authority of the water commissioners, constructed a ditch heading in the Santa Ana River about one and three-quarter miles above today’s Tippecanoe Bridge.

The ditch turned out to be sufficiently large enough to carry the river’s normal summer flow at that point. Dividing half a mile below the intake, the South Fork branch, or Timber Ditch, of the Santa Ana, served the Timber Settlement. The other branch, known as the North Fork of the Santa Ana, carried water to the City Creek Settlement.

The new irrigation project, however, presented a bit of a problem.
During the fall of 1856, Bishop Nathan Tenney, who had moved into the former Mission outpost building (on today’s Barton Road) four years earlier in order to supervise Mormon farming operations on the south side of the river, had constructed a diversion to carry water from the Santa Ana River to the old mission lands.

The “Tenney Ditch” tapped the river some five miles above the intake of the one built by the people of the City Creek and Timber Settlements, thus depleting much of their water.

As it turned out, Tenney had proposed his ditch a couple months before his competitors did. However, his was greater in length and took much longer to complete. Tenney was also late as far as attaining rights to the water source from the river. Therefore, the Timber and City Creek people had a legitimate gripe when they protested to the water commissioners about their dilemma. Not surprisingly, the Bishop was ordered to cease taking water from the river.

When Mormon Church president, Brigham Young, recalled his faithful back to Salt Lake during the latter part of 1857, many families were torn about abandoning San Bernardino. One of those families who chose to remain was that of Edward Daley.
Logging was becoming a hot commodity and big business by the late 1860’s and Daley, an engineer by trade, formed a surveying company to construct a wagon road from San Bernardino up into mountains.
The new road—known as the Twin and City Creek Turnpike-- began at the north end of Del Rosa, ascended the steep slopes between Strawberry Creek and the west fork of City Creek, reached the mountain crest just east of Strawberry Peak, and finally descended into Little Bear Valley, near today’s Blue Jay and Lake Arrowhead.
On May 14, 1870, the San Bernardino Guardian reported that the Twin and City Creek Turnpike was open and upon completion affords a convenience to our lumbermen never known before and would make the mountains a favorite place of resort, being accessible by almost any kind of vehicle. The new road would allow teamsters to travel from San Bernardino to the mountains in six to seven hours.

The Guardian announced on October 22 that Twin and City Creek Turnpike is now open for teams and listed the rate of toll:
Sheep or Goat—2 cents per head
Horse, mule, Jack, Jennet or Cattle—6 cents per head
Horse and Buggy—25 cents
Buggy or Wagon and two animals—37 and half cents
Additional animal—6 cents
Man and Horse—12 and a half cents
The Toll Road Company also gave notice that they will not be responsible for any accident that may occur on the road.
Over the years, the two small communities east of town have fallen into oblivion. City Creek Settlement is now part of Highland, while its southbound neighbor, Timber Settlement, evolved into Norton Air Force Base and what is now the property of the San Bernardino International Airport and Hospitality Lane.

Officially opened in 1870 to transport mountain timber down to the valley, the Twin and City Creek Turnpike--commonly known to local residents as the “Daley Road”, was eventually purchased by the county, widened with prison labor, and evolved into today’s California State Highway 330.

Today there is a monument to the “Daley Toll Road” at the point where the old road crosses Highway 18 on the mountain rim.
You can contact Nick Cataldo at [email protected] and read more of his local history articles at Facebook.com/BackRoadsPress.

06/28/2026

Among the early settlers who made major contributions to the prosperity and civil life in Southern California, were the first Jewish pioneers to arrive in this area. My column written for the Southern California News Group appearing on June 23, 2026 was about one of these esteemed leaders who made a name for himself in the city of San Bernardino. His name was Lewis Jacobs.
SB’s first banker drew clients from L.A. and San Diego

As families began to pour into Southern California after the war between Mexico and the United States came to a close in 1848, opportunities for young men of ambition and ability became endless. On a local level, perhaps no one exemplified that “American Dream” more than a young man named Lewis Jacobs.
Born in Prussia in 1831, Jacobs left his homeland and headed for New York in spring 1851. With only a few dollars in his pockets, the adventurous 19-year-old crossed the continent and joined the rush to the Northern California gold fields.
Within a few months, the frustrated miner came to the conclusion the real winners in the search for the elusive pot of gold were those wise enough to switch occupations before it was too late.
Jacobs stopped in San Francisco where he booked a passage to San Pedro and, deciding to try his luck as a traveling salesman, shouldered his pack and walked more than 50 miles to San Bernardino in 1852.
Upon arrival, he found the young Mormon colony, settled just the year before, and located inside a stockade erected as protection against a rumored Native American uprising.
Lewis Jacobs (Courtesy of the San Bernardino Historical and Pioneer Society)
Obviously recognizing the struggling settlers had little money, Jacobs carried on his business by barter and exchange, taking butter, eggs, and produce as payment for his goods, which he then hauled by ox team on a three-day journey to Los Angeles, which helped introduce some hard currency in San Bernardino’s economy.
Fortunately, the raid never materialized and, before long, Jacobs opened up a mercantile store, perhaps the first such business outside the fort near Grafton Street, what is Arrowhead Avenue today, and Fourth Street. He also expanded into other commercial endeavors, running a sawmill and a shingle operation in which he partnered with Louis Glazer in 1854.
After the Mormon recall back to Salt Lake City in late 1857, where roughly 60% of the residents answered the call, a mixed bag of new arrivals moved into San Bernardino.
Jacobs, a man of great courage and foresight, soon branched from merchandising into banking. After operating his dry goods store for six years, in 1858 Jacobs turned it over to his partners, the Meyersteins. He then started the Bank of San Bernardino in a small one-story adobe building on Grafton, just south of his former store.
Jacobs proved himself to be an astute financial adviser. The Temple Bank, the only other Southern California financial institution, was slow in reaching to the East Coast. Jacobs was quick to establish New York and Philadelphia ties and was able to handle eastern drafts at favorable rates.
The public so appreciated the shrewd businessman’s service that the Bank of San Bernardino was soon luring clients from Los Angeles and from as far away as San Diego and he had a big role in developing some major pioneer enterprises within what is now known as the Inland Empire.
Through Jacobs’ work, the California Southern Railroad, today’s BNSF Railway, linked San Bernardino with San Diego and later with the advancing Atlantic and Pacific at Barstow.
Other works made possible through loans and other assistance from Jacobs’ bank included irrigation projects for Riverside and the Bear Valley Dam, the Arizona Stage Line linking San Bernardino with Prescott and Tucson, the burgeoning citrus industry, the electrification of San Bernardino’s horse drawn streetcar line, and the initial capital for developing the town of Redlands.
After a few years, Jacobs moved his flourishing banking business into one of the first two-story brick structures in town at the northeast corner of Fourth and D streets. He later put up a building on Third Street that would be the bank’s final home.
When his health declined in early 1900, Jacobs turned over the operation of the bank to his son-in-law, Oscar Newburg, who would run it for a few more years until legislative restrictions on private banks forced it to liquidate.
With a daughter by his side, Jacobs set sail for Europe that spring to visit the home in Germany he had left 49 years earlier. He didn’t survive the return voyage.
Applauded for his active participation with San Bernardino’s civic affairs, Jacobs was one of the founders of Paradise Lodge, the local chapter of the benevolent Jewish order B’nai B’rith. He also helped establish the Home of Eternity Cemetery, the oldest Jewish burial grounds in continuous use in Southern California, which opened in 1861.
A poor immigrant youth when he left Prussia, Jacobs died a wealthy man. His modest fortune had come from service to a community he helped build.

06/10/2026

My local history column written for the Southern California News Group on May 26 is about two early pioneers who had a tremendous impact in Southern California's history.

2 early San Bernardino County explorers helped to document history starting 250 years ago

San Bernardino County is full of fascinating history, and this year marks two monumental milestones — the 250th anniversary of the arrival of the Father Francisco Garcés, the first known missionary explorer to document his arrival in this region, and 200th year since mountain man Jedediah Smith became the first Anglo-American to reach California overland.

Our understanding of the earliest days on record owes much to the arrival of the two men. The milestones were not solitary feats of survival either. They were testaments to the generosity, lifesaving hospitality and geographic knowledge of the Indigenous people the two encountered.

Born in Villa de Morata del Conde in north-central Spain, Father Francisco Tomas Hermenegildo Garcés (1738-1781) was the first known explorer to visit the homeland of the Mohave tribe. He was also the first to travel across San Bernardino County and leave a record of his experiences.

Mohave guides and Sebastian Tarabal, a Christian Native American who served as a guide and interpreter, made Garcés’ arrival possible.

The Mohave possessed a vast knowledge of desert waterholes and routes. Instead of struggling through impassable canyons, guides led Garcés over a well-worn trade trail — known today as the Mohave Trail — following the Mojave River and crossing the San Bernardino Mountains.

The first stretch of the route led from Mohave settlements on the Colorado River near today’s Needles through a long, hilly stretch of desert in which there were three waterholes. The end of this stretch was the sink of the Mojave River at Soda Lake.
From Soda Lake the trail kept close to the river.

On March 6, 1776, Garcés wrote: “Here (near the Providence Mountains) I met four Indians who had come from Santa Clara to traffic in shell beads. They were carrying no food supply, nor even bows for hunting. Noticing my astonishment at this, where there is nothing to eat, they said, ‘We Jamajabs (Mojaves) can withstand hunger and thirst for as long as four days,’ to give me to understand that indeed are they hardy men.”
After traveling up the Mojave River past abandoned village sites, Garcés encountered many members of the Vanyume tribe.

At a village near today’s Helendale on March 19, the chief presented him with a string of shell beads about 2 yards long while his wife poured acorns over Garcés’s head as a sign of respect.

After leaving a Vanyume village in Summit Valley known as Wa’peat (Guapiabit) on March 22, Garcés continued along the trail, which today is partly submerged beneath the waters of Lake Silverwood, to the crest of the San Bernardino Mountains, near what is now known as Monument Peak.

Overlooking the San Bernardino Valley, he noted: “After three leagues I crossed the sierra by the southwest. The woods I said yesterday reached to the summit of this sierra whence I saw clearly the sea (Pacific Ocean), the Rio de Santa Ana (Santa Ana River) and the Valle de San Joseph (San Bernardino Valley).”

After descending a ridge between Cable and Devil canyons, Garcés wrote: “Its descent is little wooded. At a little distance from its foot I found another rancheria” where he was received by Native Americans.

After visiting the Yuhaaviatam (Serrano) village near Cable and Cajon creeks, near Devore today, he passed through the San Bernardino Valley and arrived in San Gabriel two days later.

Without the hospitality and route finding of his Indigenous guides, traversing this desert-to-mountain corridor would have been impossible for the Spanish priest.

Fifty years later, Smith (1799-1831) and a fur-trading party became the first group of Americans to make an overland journey to California.

Smith, a 27-year-old from Bainbridge, New York, was anxious to explore the country between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean.

Smith and 17 men left northern Utah in August 1826 and traveled to the Mohave villages near the Colorado River, arriving in late October.

The Mohave tribe facilitated Smith’s crossing by providing food and security, with Smith in turn offering goods from the American trade system.

Smith’s diarist, Harrison G. Rogers, recorded the reliance on the native people for the “trapping” expedition.

With the late October arrival, the Americans were saved by the compassion of the Natives. The Mohave people shared vital supplies, fed the famished trappers and provided guides who led them safely along the same trail Garcés followed 50 years earlier.

Guided by these experts, Smith’s expedition followed the Mojave River sink at Soda Lake and made its way to the base of the San Bernardino Mountains.

When Smith later returned through the region in 1827 — desperate for the safety of civilization following violent skirmishes on the Colorado River — local Vanyume people once again provided aid. They shared what food they had.

Today, the Garcés-Smith Monument, perched high above the corridor of the 15 and 215 freeways in the San Bernardino Mountains, memorializes the intertwined legacies of these European and American pathfinders and their Indigenous friends. The landmark pays homage to the ancient Mohave Trail.

The historical importance of both Garcés and Smith in opening routes to the West cannot be overstated. Their expeditions laid the geographical groundwork for future westward migration, and thanks to the kindness, survival strategies and hospitality from the Indigenous people they befriended, helped to create San Bernardino County.

Contact Nick Cataldo at [email protected] and read more of his local history articles at Back Roads Press.
•

05/14/2026

Route 66 is celebrating 100 years of history in 2026

The Mother Road' stretches from Chicago to Santa Monica and a big stretch winds through San Bernardino County.

My column written for the San Bernardino Sun (part of the Southern California News Group) for April 28, 2026 is about this iconic highway and the role it has...and still does..play in this region.

What stretches 2,400 miles, spans eight states and brings back memories of midcentury glory?

Of course it’s Route 66, which is turning 100 this year. “The Mother Road” is celebrating its centennial with a massive nationwide celebration.

In Southern California, the roadway stretched roughly from Needles on the Colorado River across the Mojave Desert, over the Cajon Pass and into the San Bernardino Valley before continuing west to Santa Monica. The iconic route played a major role in Southern California’s development during much of the 20th century.

Before Route 66 was established, the pathway through San Bernardino County for early motorists meant harsh conditions, dirt roads, and limited services.

This early route, established in 1912, was known initially as the Santa Fe-Grand Canyon-Needles Highway, and in 1914 it became part of the National Old Trails Road, which aimed to connect the East Coast to Los Angeles.

By 1916, however, the road from Barstow to San Bernardino had been largely paved, making it a viable route for the growing number of tourists exploring the desert by automobile.

In November 1926, the U.S. numbered highway system incorporated most of the National Old Trails Road and commissioned a new highway — U.S. Route 66.
Ah, Route 66!

The subject of a hit song and a popular TV show, and nicknamed the “Mother Road” by author John Steinbeck, this highway extended 2,400 miles from Chicago to Santa Monica.

Along its long path numerous mom-and-pop garages and Depression-era stores dotted the landscape. The forerunners of today’s motels — auto courts — were plentiful and cheap.
San Bernardino County became home to some of the most iconic landmarks along Route 66, and many continue to be popular today.

A train station and the El Garces Harvey House Hotel, which served as a crucial oasis, greeted travelers entering from Arizona into California and Needles.
A vital stop in the Mojave Desert in the small town of Amboy, now owned by the family of the late Albert Okura (founder of Juan Pollo restaurants), was Roy’s Motel and Café.

In Barstow was the Casa del Desierto Harvey House, which now serves as the Mother Road Route 66 Museum, preserving the history of this vital railway and highway hub.
Those continuing on to Victorville would find Emma Jean’s Holland Burger Cafe, which began serving travelers in the 1940s.

After crossing of the desert, Route 66 meanders through Cajon Pass before making its way into San Bernardino along Cajon Boulevard. Drivers on the route followed Mount Vernon Avenue and turned right on Fifth Street before leaving the valley for Los Angeles County by way of Foothill Boulevard.

Traffic became so heavy in the San Bernardino area that a Business Route 66 — along Kendall Drive and E Street — was needed.

During the highway’s heyday, the Summit Inn at the top of the Cajon Pass was a popular stop.

The Blue Cut district in the Cajon Pass was also a draw. Popular places of respite were the A Frame Eatery and the Blue Cut Garage. And for those stopping to stretch during the long drive, a gem shop was a frequently visited stop.

As the weary traveler entered San Bernardino, there was Pic’s Coffee Shop in Devore and several businesses near Cajon Boulevard and Kendall Drive at the Junction Cafe. Five bus lines and 42 buses made stops there daily. At the Buckeye Inn, hundreds of burgers were dished out every week, and Leo’s Italian Restaurant served generous portions.

Along this well-used path were lodgings like the Mission Auto Court and the Wigwam Motel. Eateries like the Cocky Cactus, Mother Massetti’s, Bono’s restaurant and the Sycamore Inn, as well as orange-shaped juice stands and the Virginia Dare Winery in Rancho Cucamonga, all made wonderful stops along the route.

Things were indeed looking good for Route 66. Then the freeway came through in the 1960s and life took a detour.

For years, business along the route was great. But when the freeway opened, a number of establishments started to face challenges.

By the 1970s, Highway 40 had replaced much of the road through the Mojave Desert, bypassing places like Amboy and turning them into ghost towns. In 1979, the state decommissioned the highway, and in 1985, it was removed from the U.S. highway system.

But the old road is alive and well and celebrated, thanks in large part to popular car shows along the route, including the annual Route 66 Rendezvous, held in downtown San Bernardino during the 1990s and early 2000s and known today as Rendezvous Back to Route 66.

“Mother Road” historians at the California Route 66 Museum in Victorville and the old Cucamonga Service Station and Route 66 Museum also eagerly share information about the historic route.

Today, you can still get a hearty breakfast at places like Emma Jean’s in Victorville or at the former Pic’s Coffee Shop, now known as Jerry’s Café in Devore.

You can also stop for a tasty bit of nostalgia at Mitla’s Café in San Bernardino or the Sycamore Inn in Rancho Cucamonga before driving down Foothill Boulevard while pretending you are riding with Martin Milner and George Maharis on the “Route 66” TV series.

Contact Nick Cataldo at [email protected] and read more of his local history articles at Back Roads Press.

04/10/2026

My column for March 24 is about the upcoming 2026 Inland Empire History Festival, which everyone is invited and should be lots of fun!!
2026 Inland Empire History Festival
The third annual event is planned for April 18 at San Bernardino International Airport
San Bernardino County is getting ready for a massive party and everyone is invited.
In case you haven’t heard, San Bernardino International Airport will be hosting the third annual Inland Empire History Festival from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 18.
Located at 1601 East 3rd St., the free event will be great fun as well as an interesting way to learn about the region’s colorful past.
Presented by the efforts of the San Bernardino International Airport, the Highland Area Historical Society, the San Bernardino Historical and Pioneer Society and the Norton Air Force Base Museum.
Activities will take place on the Norton AFB Museum parking lot and inside the museum itself.
Historically, Norton plays a huge role with this event.
From 1942 to 1994, the base was a cornerstone of San Bernardino County’s history, having participated in every conflict and skirmish from World War II to the Persian Gulf War. The base was a major employer in San Bernardino County and served as a vital Cold War logistics hub. It is named after San Bernardino native Capt. Leland Norton, who died during World War II.
When Norton Air Force Base closed its doors on March 31, 1994, after a half century of service, a major impact on the San Bernardino Valley came to an end.
The late Robert M. (Bob) Edwards, the first president of the Norton AFB Museum, shared with me during the time the museum was getting off the ground in 2013, how shutting the base correlated with San Bernardino’s economic situation for many years.
Fortunately, in recent years development surrounding what is now known as San Bernardino International Airport has brought Amazon, Stater Bros., Kohl’s and other companies, along with thousands of jobs.
Norton AFB Museum is playing a huge role in preserving the legacy of the former air base’s past.
Edwards was a 20-year Air Force veteran, who died in 2021 at age 74, and he proudly declared the museum’s motto: “To preserve, honor and promote the history of Norton Air Force Base.” He emphatically said volunteers who staff the museum take this very seriously.
This continues to be so today.
The inaugural 2024 history festival was held at the Santa Fe Depot in San Bernardino. In 2025, the vent was held at the Norton Air Force Base Museum.
This year’s Inland Empire History Festival will feature many historical societies from across the region, including Highland, San Bernardino, Yucaipa, Redlands and Rialto.
There will be a lot to explore that day.
And there are a lot of other venues to explore in the Inland Empire too. The A. K. Smiley Public Library, the Lincoln Memorial Shrine, Palm Springs Air Museum, Ontario Library, Agua Caliente Cultural Museum, Sam and Alfreda Maloof Foundation for Arts and Crafts, Cucamonga Service Station and Route 66 Museum, Riverside County Archives commission, Old Riverside Foundation, the Horace Frink Adobe, Cal State San Bernardino’s Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum, Cooper Museum, General Patton Museum and representatives involved Calico Ghost Town and San Bernardino Valley College’s 100th anniversary.
Local authors will be there too, including Charles Hepperle, Kelli Shapiro, Steve L**h, Glenn Wenzel, Paul LaCanfora, John Atwater and Nick Cataldo.
There will be a table commemorating the history of professional baseball in our region.
Attendees will be treated by live music from Redlands 4th of July Band, Highland Pickers and Mountain Music Men.
And for those of us with fond memories growing up listening to local radio, there will be some familiar voices there too. Jim Ness, formerly of KMEN and many other stations, Lacey Kendall with KCAL-FM, Vic Slick from KOLA-FM, Evelyn Erves with KGGI, Daryl Norsell with KCAL, and Cassie MacDuff with KVCR.
For more information visit highlandhistory.org.
Contact Nick Cataldo at [email protected] and read more of his local history articles at Back Roads Press.

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