Rancho Cucamonga | Suburban City, San Bernardino County, Inland Empire (2024)

Rancho Cucamonga, city, San Bernardino county, southern California, U.S. Part of the “Inland Empire” region (comprising San Bernardino and Riverside counties), it is located on an alluvial plain near the eastern end of the San Gabriel Mountains, 37 miles (60 km) east of central Los Angeles. The area, originally inhabited by the Tongva (or Gabrielino) Indians (its name derives from the Indian word kukamonga, meaning “sandy place”), was explored in 1769 by a Spanish expedition led by Gaspar de Portolá. It became part of a land grant issued to Tiburcio Tapía (1839), who there established a winery (the oldest in the state and the second oldest in the United States). Rancho de Cucamonga was bought in 1858 by John Rains and his wife; their home, Casa de Rancho Cucamonga (built 1860), has been restored and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1870 the land was bought by San Francisco businessmen who formed the Cucamonga Company. By 1887 a railway was providing a link to the area, which subsequently was subdivided into three communities: Cucamonga, Alta Loma, and Etiwanda; the towns voted to incorporate as Rancho Cucamonga in 1977. The economic mainstay of the communities was agriculture, particularly citrus fruits, olives, and peaches, and there were also vineyards. The city is now largely residential, with some manufacturing and aerospace industries and retail businesses. The area was long a transportation centre, with trails and roads (e.g., the Cajon Pass; the Mojave, Old Spanish, and Sante Fe trails; El Camino Real [“King’s Highway”]; the Butterfield Stagecoach Route; and Route 66) crossing through the city. A community college was established in Rancho Cucamonga in 1883, and there are also satellite campuses of the University of Redlands and the University of La Verne. The city hosts an annual Grape Harvest Festival (first held in 1939). San Bernardino and Angeles national forests are north of the city. Inc. 1977. Pop. (2010) 165,269; (2020) 174,453.