Politana was the first Spanish settlement in the San Bernardino Valley, named for Bernardino of Siena.
 Politana was established May 20, 1810, as a mission chapel and supply station by the Mission San Gabriel in the ranchería of the Guachama Indians that lived on the bluff that is now known as Bunker Hill, near Lytle Creek.
 Two years later the settlement was destroyed by local tribesmen, following powerful earthquakes that shook the region.
Several years later, the Serrano and Mountain Cahuilla rebuilt the Politana rancheria, and in 1819 invited the missionaries to return to the valley.
They did and established the San Bernardino de Sena Estancia.
 Serrano and Cahuilla people inhabited Politana until long after the 1830s decree of secularization and the 1842 inclusion into the Rancho San Bernardino land grant of the José del Carmen Lugo family.

The city of San Bernardino is one of the oldest communities in the state of California, and in its present-day location, was not largely settled until 1851, after California became a state.
The first Anglo-American colony was established by pioneers associated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or Mormons.
 Following the Mormon colonists purchase of Rancho San Bernardino, and the establishment of the town of San Bernardino in 1851, San Bernardino County was formed in 1853 from parts of Los Angeles County.
Mormons laid out the town based on the "City of Zion" plan which was typical of Mormon urban planning.
Cities are typically laid out with North-South, East-West streets in predetermined city block sizes with wide streets.
Often cities are laid out with an alphabetical and numerical system typical for Mormon towns, with streets running alphabet letters for North-South streets and numbers for East-West streets.
Mormon colonists developed irrigated, commercial farming and lumbering, supplying agricultural produce and lumber throughout Southern California.
The city was officially incorporated in 1857.
Later that year, most of the colonists were recalled by Brigham Young in 1857 due to the Utah War.
 Once highly regarded in early California, news of the Mountain Meadows Massacre poisoned attitudes toward the Mormons.
Some Mormons would stay in San Bernardino and some later returned from Utah, but a real estate consortium from El Monte and Los Angeles bought most of the lands of the old rancho and of the departing colonists.
They sold these lands to new settlers who came to dominate the culture and politics in the county and San Bernardino became a typical American frontier town.
Many of the new land owners disliked the sober Mormons, indulging in drinking at saloons now allowed in the town.
Disorder, fighting and violence in the vicinity became common, reaching a climax in the 1859 Ainsworth - Gentry Affair.

In 1860 a gold rush began in the mountains nearby with the discovery of gold by William F. Holcomb in Holcomb Valley early 1860.
 Another strike followed in the upper reach of Lytle Creek.
By the 1860s, San Bernardino had also became an important trading hub in Southern California.
The city already on the Los Angeles – Salt Lake Road, became the starting point for the Mojave Road from 1858 and Bradshaw Trail from 1862 to the mines along the Colorado River and within the Arizona Territory in the gold rush of 1862-1864.

Near San Bernardino is a naturally formed arrowhead-shaped rock formation on the side of a mountain.
It measures 1375 feet by 449 feet.
According to the Native American legend regarding the landmark arrowhead, an arrow from Heaven burned the formation onto the mountainside in order to show tribes where they could be healed.
During the mid-19th century, "Dr." David Noble Smith claimed that a saint-like being appeared before him and told of a far-off land with exceptional climate and curative waters, marked by a gigantic arrowhead.
Smith's search for that unique arrowhead formation began in Texas, and eventually ended at Arrowhead Springs in California in 1857.
By 1889, word of the springs, along with the hotel on the site (and a belief in the effect
Politana was the first Spanish settlement in the San Bernardino Valley, named for Bernardino of Siena.  Politana was established May 20, 1810, as a mission chapel and supply station by the Mission San Gabriel in the ranchería of the Guachama Indians that lived on the bluff that is now known as Bunker Hill, near Lytle Creek.  Two years later the settlement was destroyed by local tribesmen, following powerful earthquakes that shook the region. Several years later, the Serrano and Mountain Cahuilla rebuilt the Politana rancheria, and in 1819 invited the missionaries to return to the valley. They did and established the San Bernardino de Sena Estancia.  Serrano and Cahuilla people inhabited Politana until long after the 1830s decree of secularization and the 1842 inclusion into the Rancho San Bernardino land grant of the José del Carmen Lugo family.
The city of San Bernardino is one of the oldest communities in the state of California, and in its present-day location, was not largely settled until 1851, after California became a state. The first Anglo-American colony was established by pioneers associated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or Mormons.  Following the Mormon colonists purchase of Rancho San Bernardino, and the establishment of the town of San Bernardino in 1851, San Bernardino County was formed in 1853 from parts of Los Angeles County. Mormons laid out the town based on the "City of Zion" plan which was typical of Mormon urban planning. Cities are typically laid out with North-South, East-West streets in predetermined city block sizes with wide streets. Often cities are laid out with an alphabetical and numerical system typical for Mormon towns, with streets running alphabet letters for North-South streets and numbers for East-West streets. Mormon colonists developed irrigated, commercial farming and lumbering, supplying agricultural produce and lumber throughout Southern California. The city was officially incorporated in 1857. Later that year, most of the colonists were recalled by Brigham Young in 1857 due to the Utah War.  Once highly regarded in early California, news of the Mountain Meadows Massacre poisoned attitudes toward the Mormons. Some Mormons would stay in San Bernardino and some later returned from Utah, but a real estate consortium from El Monte and Los Angeles bought most of the lands of the old rancho and of the departing colonists. They sold these lands to new settlers who came to dominate the culture and politics in the county and San Bernardino became a typical American frontier town. Many of the new land owners disliked the sober Mormons, indulging in drinking at saloons now allowed in the town. Disorder, fighting and violence in the vicinity became common, reaching a climax in the 1859 Ainsworth - Gentry Affair.
In 1860 a gold rush began in the mountains nearby with the discovery of gold by William F. Holcomb in Holcomb Valley early 1860.  Another strike followed in the upper reach of Lytle Creek. By the 1860s, San Bernardino had also became an important trading hub in Southern California. The city already on the Los Angeles – Salt Lake Road, became the starting point for the Mojave Road from 1858 and Bradshaw Trail from 1862 to the mines along the Colorado River and within the Arizona Territory in the gold rush of 1862-1864.
Near San Bernardino is a naturally formed arrowhead-shaped rock formation on the side of a mountain. It measures 1375 feet by 449 feet. According to the Native American legend regarding the landmark arrowhead, an arrow from Heaven burned the formation onto the mountainside in order to show tribes where they could be healed. During the mid-19th century, "Dr." David Noble Smith claimed that a saint-like being appeared before him and told of a far-off land with exceptional climate and curative waters, marked by a gigantic arrowhead. Smith's search for that unique arrowhead formation began in Texas, and eventually ended at Arrowhead Springs in California in 1857. By 1889, word of the springs, along with the hotel on the site (and a belief in the effect
San Bernardino, California