[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 53 (Thursday, April 15, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S2373]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               RECOGNIZING SAN BERNARDINO'S BICENTENNIAL

 Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I am honored today to join with the 
people of San Bernardino as they celebrate their bicentennial--the 
200th anniversary of the founding of this great city.
  From the day in 1810 when Franciscan missionary Father Dumetz named 
the area ``San Bernardino'' to the present, San Bernardino--nestled 
south of the San Bernardino Mountains and west of the lower desert--has 
been recognized for its scenic beauty and strategic location.
  San Bernardino's colorful history begins in the early years of the 
19th century when Spanish missionaries were the first settlers to the 
region. Mission San Bernardino was established in 1810 and the 
missionaries, along with the American Indians native to the area, 
diverted water to the valley from Mill Creek for irrigation purposes. 
As a result, the area flourished.
  Gradually the mission period came to a close and soon came the rise 
of the Great Spanish Rancheros. The abandoned Mission San Bernardino 
did not stay vacant for long. San Bernardino Rancho was granted to the 
Lugo Brothers in 1842 and eventually became an important post on the 
trading route known as the Spanish Trail, where pioneer trailblazers 
such as Kit Carson and Jedediah Strong Smith often traveled.
  In 1848, California joined the United States. By this time, many 
rancheros had left the area. In 1851, the Lugo brothers eventually sold 
San Bernardino Rancho to a party of 500 Mormon settlers who built a 
stockade around the ranch and named it ``Fort San Bernardino''. The 
community thrived and was officially incorporated in 1854 as a city 
with a population of 1,200. At that time, San Bernardino was strictly a 
temperance town, with no drinking or gambling allowed.
  As the 19th century waned, the giant railway companies eventually 
found their way to San Bernardino, changing it from a sleepy town into 
an enterprising city. Santa Fe, Union Pacific, and Southern Pacific all 
made San Bernardino the hub of their southern California operations. 
When the Santa Fe Railway established a transcontinental link in 1886, 
the already prosperous valley exploded. Even more settlers flocked from 
the East, and the population doubled between 1900 and 1910.
  San Bernardino has had a great history with military involvement. The 
San Bernardino Engineer Depot, commonly called Camp Ono, was located 
along what is now the I-215 freeway was used by the U.S. Army as a 
vehicle and ammunition supply and storage depot, drycleaning facility, 
sewage spreading area, tent manufacturing and dyeing facility, 
locomotive maintenance facility, railcar and tank degreasing facility, 
motor vehicle pool, prisoner of war camp, bomb manufacturing, and water 
softening facility.
  The site was also a part of the Advance Communications Zone Depot in 
the southern California defense system. Camp Ono consisted of a total 
of 1,662.82 acres and was leased by the U.S. Army on 1 July 1940 and 
existed until December 1946. A prisoner of war camp occupied 300 acres 
of the site. Approximately 499 Italian prisoners of war were 
incarcerated, and they were used to maintain army vehicles, degrease 
tanks, and operated a tent repair and tent dyeing facility.
  Norton Air Force Base was also located east of downtown San 
Bernardino. This frontline military installation was home to a 
logistics depot and heavy-lift transport facility for a wide variety of 
military aircraft, equipment, and supplies as part of the Material/Air 
Force Logistics Command and then as part of the Military Airlift 
Command. The secondary mission of the base was as a headquarters for 
Aerospace Defense Command for southern California, the Air Force Audio-
Visual Center and numerous Air Force Reserve units and the Office of 
the Inspector General.
  Norton was closed as a result of base realignment and closure, BRAC, 
action in 1994. The aviation facilities of the base were converted into 
San Bernardino International Airport and the remainder for other 
private development opportunities. Mattel Toys, Stater Bros Markets, 
Pep Boys, and Kohl's also are located within the industrial complex on 
the former base.
  McDonald's was founded by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald in 
San Bernardino in 1940. Their introduction of the Speedee Service 
System in 1948 established the principles of the modern fast-food 
restaurant.
  San Bernardino is also the home of Al Houghton Stadium and the 
Western Regional Little League Inc. Each year San Bernardino hosts 11 
Western States in the West and Northwest regional tournaments. The 
winner of each tournament goes on to the Little League World Series in 
Williamsport, PA.
  San Bernardino has a plethora of educational opportunities. 
California State University, San Bernardino, was founded in 1965 and 
graduated its first class in 1969. From a very small beginning, this 
university has flourished with new facilities and Division II sports 
programs. There are also many other schools of higher learning in the 
city, including San Bernardino Valley College, the Art Institute of 
California-Inland Empire, Argosy University-Inland Empire, Everett 
College, and the American Sports University.
  Today San Bernardino has emerged as a modern urban community with a 
bright future. The enduring spirit and vitality of yesterday's pioneers 
are still evident and reflected in the pride of community. The city of 
San Bernardino serves as the county seat and is the largest city in the 
county of San Bernardino, with a population more than 205,000.
  Please join me in honoring the city of San Bernardino as it 
celebrates its bicentennial.

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