West Riverside Fire Station

You drive passed it all the time, so much so that you never even notice it any more. But you should! The West Riverside Fire Station No. 18 is a great piece of Jurupa history! Built in 1934 as a WPA project, the station is built from large pieces of granite which are thought to have been quarried from nearby Rattlesnake Mountain. The walls are said to be 18 inces thick(!) but I haven't measured them. It was built on land donated by the Harvest Festival Association, which once owned a huge piece of property that stretched from Mission Boulevard up to the hills to the north. To see a great old photo of this fire station, go to the link below.

http://www.rvcfire.org/opencms/facilities/FireStations/NorthWestDiv/WestRiversideStation18.html

1908 Train Wreck in Pedley

The big happening in February 1908 was a train wreck near the Pedley train station. The Pedley train station was located where the Metro Link station is located today. The Los Angeles limited was going approximately 40 miles an hour when it left the tracks at about 9:15 P.M. The accident occurred 200 yards east of the Pedley station. It looked like the cause of the wreck was a broken wheel flange. This caused the engine and tender and all of the cars except the mail car and observation card to leave the tracks and go pounding over the ties. None of the cars overturned but the dining car was tilted at a 45-degree angle. Inside that car was the eight-man car crew. We can assume they were bounced around a bit. 

The eighty passengers on the train were thrown around and one woman, Mrs. Murray of Los Angeles, broke her collarbone. A wrecking train was sent out from Los Angeles and arrived at 3 AM. They immediately began laying a “shoofly” track around the wreck. Overland Train No.2 was trapped at Ontario and was sent back to LA and then over the Santa Fe tracks via San Bernardino so it could get on to its destination. The emergency tract was competed at 6:30 AM and the local and overland trains could get through at their scheduled times

Why West Riverside?

One of the most common questions I get asked about Jurupa history is why our area became known as West Riverside? It is more north of Riverside than west and it was here before Riverside. First, lets deal with the "west" part. If you look at a map of the area and consider where downtown Riverside is, the Rubidoux area across the river is more towards the west than the north, due to the course of the Santa Ana River through that area.

A subdivision map called the "Map of West Riverside" was created in the late 1880s. It consisted of lots of 5 to 20 acres in size. Using today’s landmarks, this area stretched from approximately the intersection of Rubidoux Boulevard and 20^th Street southwest to the southern terminus of Opal Avenue (later Opal Street).  Both Opal Avenue and Pacific Avenue, which exist today, are named on the map.

Riverside was the "big city" in the area at that point in time while the other side of the river, our side, was rural. All developers worth their salt will try to attach their subdivision to the most well known place in the area, and so we got West Riverside.  

A few things have changed since 1942!

In July 1942, a telephone and business directory was published for the West Riverside Township by our local newspaper, the Times-Democrat, whose office was located  on Mission Boulevard in West Riverside (now Rubidoux). I managed to buy a copy of this directory off of ebay a few years ago.

On page two of the directory is a discussion of the West Riverside Township (not to be confused with the community of West Riverside). A township was a local governmental entity that was usually used in rural areas. The directory says that the West Riverside Township included all the Jurupa area except the area south of Limonite Street in Mira Loma, in other words that portion of Mira Loma that was par tof the Eastvale School District and is now located in the Corona-Norco School District. The directory said that the area had over 100 places of business, over 3000 registered voters, and a population of nearly 7000 people.

I don't know how many businesses Jurupa Valley has but I do know that we now have over 30,000 registered voters and a population of just over 100,000. Just a wee bit of growth in 69 years! 

Making History!

Last night was incredible! Over 150 people gatherd at Indian Hills Country Club to watch the election results come in for the big cityhood election. WOW! While I usually write about things in this blog that happened more than 24 hours ago, Jurupa Valley becoming a city is certainly a historic moment which deserves a post on a blog about Jurupa history!

The atmosphere in the room was fantastic! A great cross section of the citizens of our fair city were represented. We were thrilled to find out the results of the election: Measure A passed; our city council will be choosen "at large"; and our new city council will consist of Laura Roughton, Verne Lauritzen, Mike Goodland, Frank Johnston, and Brad Hancock. Laura, as the top vote getter, will also serve as the very first mayor of Jurupa Valley.

After all the work that the Yes on Measure A Committe put into this election, I think we were all thrilled and a little numb! I say "we" because I was a member of that committee. As someone who loves Jurupa history, it was a bit surreal to realize I not only was witnessing a historic moment, but played a small part in making that historic moment happen.

We were joined last night by two of the proponents of the last incorporation try, almost twenty years ago. Barbara Veitch and Ed Hawkins were there to see cityhood finally arrive in Jurupa.

As I said in my last post, I spent another momentous election night in that same room when my dad, Don Jarrell, was elected to the Jurupa Unified School District board. Last night I was so happy that Emma Jane Kuma, a dear dear friend of my parents, joined us to celebrate the successful cityhood election. Two elections, 32 years apart!

This morning when I ventured out to work I have to say, seeing my new city for the first time in the light of a new day, it looked brighter somehow. The colors were richer, everthing glowed just a little bit. I know, it sounds crazy! But when I came back home tonight, I found the same thing happening! I think the election victory is affecting my vision, in a good way!

I promise that the next post will be about something other than cityhood.

Election Night Parties

The historic cityhood election is coming up March 8th and the Yes on Measure A Committee has planned a  party at Indian Hills Country Club to watch the results come in. This reminded me of another election night many years ago. My Dad, Don Jarrell, was a real estate agent here in Jurupa and he got tired of people telling him they did not want to move to this area because the schools weren't good. He decided to do something about it and ran for the school board. Bill Hughes, who owned the Rubidoux Mortuary, was his treasurer. I remember that the election occurred in November 1979 and I couldn't vote because I was just shy of 18. The night of the election a number of people went up to Indian Hills Country Club to wait for the results. Since we didn't have computors like today, someone had to get on the phone and try to get through to the Registrar of Voters to get the results. I remember the room seemed dark (or maybe it was just my nerves) and the first results were posted on a piece of paper, once they managed to get through on the phone. My Dad won the election, against the incumbant, and I never forgot that night, that room, and that election.  This election party will include a few of the same people as that long ago election party. I will update this post later to include who was there both nights.

Visit Jensen-Alvarado Historic Ranch and Museum!

One of the crown jewels of the Jurupa area is the Jensen-Alvarado Historic Ranch and Museum. Owned and run by the Riverside County Regional Parks and Open-Space District, its entrance is located in a residential area, off the beaten path, at 4307 Briggs Street in Rubidoux. It is not open to the public during the week. Instead, it is overrun by elementary school students learning about local and state history. It is open to the public on Saturdays 10 am to 4 pm. If you have not been to this great piece of Jurupa history make plans to go!

The Jensen house, located on the 30 acre site, was built in 1868-1870 by Cornelius Jensen and his wife Mercedes Alvarado Jensen. Cornelius was a Danish sea captain who decided to stay in California. Mercedes was from a prominent Californio family. Together they had 10 children who lived to adulthood, many of whom stayed in the area, built homes and raised their own families. Also located on the property is the home of their son Henry Jensen. It was moved to the park from a nearby property and is now the home of the onsite caretaker.      

A staff member (usually dressed in period appropriate clothes) is on hand to answer questions and give a tour of the Jensen home. The house was the first building  built with kiln fired brick in what is now Riverside County. The rebuilt winery features a small museum with items from the Jensen family. You and your family can enjoy a picnic at the tables under big shade trees near the parking lot. There are even a few farm animals, typical of a ranch from the 1880s. There is a small entrance fee, payable to the staff member (I think $2 a person) .  You won’t have to fight off a crowd to enjoy this great property on a Saturday. Below is the link for the county parks website which has a few photos of Jensen Ranch.  Rumor has it that County Parks is working on a new website, so hopefully it will have more information than their current website about this great living history museum.

  http://www.riversidecountyparks.org/locations/nature-historic-centers/jensen-alvarado/