Rialto’s name came either from a combination of rio and alto,
meaning high river or from the Rialto Bridge in Venice, Italy.
The Italian bridge was used for many years as Rialto’s
symbol.
The Serrano Indians lived in the area known as Rialto even
before 1500. Rialto’s geography has affected its development
throughout its history because it stands on a bench made from
debris from floods and storms sending water out of the Lytle Creek
Canyon.
Settlers in the mid 1800s built their homes below the bench
where the sandy loam was good for growing. Nearby springs seeped
out and made the land swampy.
Beginning in 1851, Capt. Andrew Lytle led his fellow Mormons to
Rialto, and they named the creek after him.
In just a few years, the Mormons covered Rialto with crops and
trees. Lytle Creek flowed year round until the 1920s through a wash
separating Rialto and San Bernardino. A large island in the middle
of the stream was settled by several Mormon families who grew fruit
trees and crops on the land.
In 1851, the Mountains family bought the Lugo ranch, which is
now San Bernardino, and claimed portions of the Rialto bench. Their
claim to the land was later disallowed by the United States
government.
By 1854, more settlers began moving in, planting vineyards and
citrus groves. Muscat grapes were the first cash crop that became
important to Rialto’s economy.
The earliest building in Rialto from the early 1800s, the Old
Adobe building has been restored at Bud Bender Park.
John Anthony Adams, historian for the Rialto Historical Society
and author of two books on Rialto, said, “We don’t really know who
built it or why.”
In 1862, a great flood washed away homes and land. The Mormon’s
island washed away completely between that flood and others.
Adams said a group of impressive people including a financier
and a former Iowa governor bought land in 1887 that includes
Rialto, Bloomington and Fontana, intending to make it a magnificent
development. But they went bankrupt.
A company called Anglo American Canaigre Company, which grew
wild rhubarb for its tannic acid to sell to tanneries, bought the
property, but didn’t get good production out of the land.
The same year, a group of Kansas Methodists came to Rialto to
build a college. The group is credited with the true founding of
the city, though they never built the college.
The same year, a Santa Fe railroad line was built between
Pasadena and San Bernardino, and the Semitropic Land and Water
Company was formed to sell land in the area.
Townsites along the railroad line were located every 2,600
yards. By the fall of 1887, more than 25 new towns were sited.
USC was to be connected with the Methodist college, but it
backed out of the deal.
Many of the Methodists stayed on to become residents of
Rialto.
Reach Nita Hiltner at nhiltner1@sbcglobal.net.
