One of the northernmost points in Riverside County is a long, narrow canyon named San Timoteo. Geographically, it connects Loma Linda in the San Bernardino Valley to Beaumont in the San Gorgonio Pass. It has had a major role in human activity for thousands of years.
Southern California is surrounded for the most part by mountains. Where those mountains break offers a way through, and such is the case with the route that includes the San Bernardino Valley, San Timoteo Canyon, San Gorgonio Pass, and the Coachella Valley. Native traditions and archaeological evidence tell us that this route was in effect for millennia. It was not surprising, then, that as Spanish settlement crept into the area in the early 1800s, that they would have heard of the canyon and likewise used it, both for access to the San Gorgonio Pass, where they pastured sheep, and to the Salton Sink where they procured salt on a yearly Jornada para Sal, or journey for salt.
In the earliest days of the American settlement of Southern California, San Timoteo Canyon played a major role. The settlement of San Bernardino by Mormon colonizers created an instant “hub” of trade, travel, and commercial activity in the area. Many additional settlers who were not of that faith either could not or would not live in the town. They settled on the periphery, and San Timoteo Canyon, with its plentiful stream, attracted many who in turn could live within close proximity to San Bernardino.
By the 1870s, the canyon played a pivotal role in another major mode of transportation – the railroad. The first transcontinental railroad connected Northern California with the east, but the second transcontinental railroad, the Southern Pacific, traversed much of California and went east via a southern route. Part of that route was through the canyon, and by 1875, the railroad was in full operation to the region.
San Timoteo Canyon even received a railroad stop of sorts – a small station named El Casco, described as being halfway between Colton and Beaumont. It was located in the vicinity of the Frink Ranch, an important location in the Canyon’s history.
San Timoteo Canyon has remained largely rural throughout the years. Although it hosted to a major transportation route, that route was supplanted by the 10 Freeway, which took a more easterly route connecting Redlands, Yucaipa, Calimesa, and Beaumont. In many ways, that is fortunate, because a drive today along San Timoteo Canyon Road offers a bit of rural scenery in an otherwise developing area. If you drive the route, you can see the historic El Casco Schoolhouse (later called the San Timoteo Canyon Schoolhouse), which has stood there since the 1880s and served as the hub of the community for many years.
If you have an idea for a future Back in the Day column about a local historic person, place or event, contact Steve Lech and Kim Jarrell Johnson at backinthedaype@gmail.com.
