Cherry Valley, California

History

In the early 1800s, the area was known as Rancho San Gorgonio, an outpost for the San Gabriel Mission. A large portion of the area was a Spanish Land Grant made to a man by the name of Paulino Weaver. In 1853, Weaver sold some of his land to Dr. Isaac William Smith, who was struck by the land's natural beauty while looking for stray cattle. Dr. Smith purchased a 1,000 acres for $1,000 from Weaver and established Smith Ranch and Highland Springs Ranch & Inn. The original Smith residence stood near where the swimming pool is today. In 1862, Smith's ranch was dubbed "Smith Station" and was made a stagecoach stop. In 1865, a young Wyatt Earp drove the route from San Bernardino to La Paz, Arizona on which Smith Station was a popular stop.

From 1864 to 1866, the route through Highland Springs along the Bradshaw Trail was the single connecting line for passenger, mail and the express travel between Southern California and the eastern regions of the nation. Smith's Station slowly developed into a hotel bustling with traffic. In 1884, the Smith property was purchased by a Los Angeles company that built a three-story hotel on the property called Highland Home. The first cherry trees in the area were planted here, contributing to the name that it is still known by today.

From the History section of Cherry Valley, California on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.