Our History

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  1774

  One of the first to travel through the area was Juan Bautista de Anza who led an overland expedition in 1774.

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  1820

  In the early 1820s, Mexican opposition leaders pronounced themselves free from Spanish rule, and California came under Mexican jurisdiction.

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  1834

  The missions and their lands were secularized beginning in 1834 and the land was transferred as "grants" to Californians who were citizens of Mexico.

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  1838

  The first land grant in what is now Riverside County, Rancho Jurupa, was given to Juan Bandini in 1838.

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  1848

  In 1848, with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, California became a territory of the United States.

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  1850

  In 1850 California became a state. This event generated a steady flow of settlers into the area, including gold miners, entrepreneurs, health-seekers, speculators, politicians, adventurers, people seeking religious freedom, and individuals who envisioned utopian colonies.

• 1893

  In May 1893, voters living within an area carved from San Bernardino County and San Diego County approved formation of Riverside County. On May 9, 1893, the county officially formed and began charting a course under its newly elected Board of Supervisors. The county's early years were linked to agriculture but commerce, construction, manufacturing, transportation and tourism soon took hold, contributing substantially to the region's rapid growth.

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  1992

  By 1992, the County was "home" to over 1.3 million residents, more than the entire population of 13 states, among them Maine, Nevada, Hawaii and New Hampshire. Since 1992, the population has nearly doubled.