Corona Founders Monument facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Corona Founders Monument |
|
|---|---|
South Riverside - Corona California in 1887
|
|
| Location | near Corona, California |
| Built | 1936 |
| Designated | June 6, 1960 |
| Reference no. | 738 |
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
The Corona Founders Monument is a special stone monument built in 1936. It honors the people who first started the city of Corona, California in Riverside County, California. This monument is recognized as a California Historic Landmark (number 738) since June 6, 1960. You can find it in Corona City Park, on 6th Street in Corona. The founders first named their new city South Riverside. They called it this after their company, the South Riverside Land and Water Company.
On May 4, 1886, the founding fathers of Corona bought land from two large ranches: Rancho La Sierra and Rancho Temescal. They planted many orange trees and lemon trees on this land. By 1912, Corona had over 5,000 acres of groves, growing lemons, oranges, grapefruit, limes, and tangerines.
The citrus industry was very important to Corona. About 80% of all jobs in the city were related to growing and processing citrus fruits. This industry continued in Corona until the 1980s. Corona was once known as the Lemon Capital of the World, but that title later went to Ventura County, California. The Corona Heritage Park & Museum has exhibits about the city's citrus history.
On July 13, 1896, South Riverside officially became a city and changed its name to Corona. "Corona" is a Spanish word meaning "Crown". In 1887, H.C. Kellogg designed the city in a unique way. He laid it out as a one-mile wide circle, with a three-mile long road called Grand Boulevard going around it. North of the circle were the railroad station and citrus packing houses. South of the circle were acres of citrus groves, known as "Queen Colony".
The South Riverside Land and Water Company started on May 4, 1886. They bought the land for $110,000. This included:
- 11,510 acres from the Yorba family from Rancho La Sierra.
- 5,000 acres from the Serrano family from Rancho Temescal.
To give you an idea, $110,000 in 1886 would be worth almost $3 million today.
Founding Fathers of Corona
The people who founded South Riverside, which became the City of Corona, were:
- R. B. Taylor - Robert B. Taylor (1849–1940) was born in Ohio. He moved to California in 1886 and hired H.C. Kellogg to help design the city. He also donated land for all the city's churches.
- George L. Joy (1832–1896) was from Vermont. He came to Corona in 1887 and was president of South Riverside for three years. He helped build the First Baptist Church in 1894 and grew oranges.
- Samuel Merrill (1822–1899) was born in Maine. He was a veteran of the Civil War and served as the 7th Governor of Iowa. He also helped found the City of Rialto.
- A. S. Garretson was a banker from Sioux City. He helped build the large, five-story Temescal Hotel. He faced financial difficulties during the economic downturn of 1893.
- Adolph Rimpau (1857–1916) was a native Californian. He was a pioneer in Anaheim, California and owned the Rimpau Estate Company with his brother.
H.C. Kellogg: The City's Designer
H.C. Kellogg (1855–1921) was South Riverside's main civil engineer, architect, and builder. He was born in Napa Valley, California. In 1886, he began working on the unique "Circle City" design for South Riverside. Later, he worked on the Gila River Dam in Arizona and became the City Engineer of Santa Ana. He also worked in the Hawaiian Islands before returning to Corona in 1908.
Monument Marker
A marker in the City of Corona explains the monument's history. It says:
- 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.
See also
- California Historical Landmarks in Riverside County, California
- List of California Ranchos
- Ranchos of Los Angeles County, California
- Temescal Valley (California)
- Temescal Creek (Riverside County)
- Santa Ana Mountains
- List of tributaries of the Santa Ana River
