When California entered the United States as a state in 1850, Americans began to move into the area. The Tucson-to-San Francisco route of John Butterfield's Overland Mail Company passed through Moreno Valley. Some farmers began to occupy the area. They relied upon Frank. E. Brown's Bear Valley Land and Water Company to provide them with water, which was collected and pumped from Bear Valley in the San Bernardino Mountains to the north. Brown began performing this service in 1883. In 1899, the city of Redlands won a lawsuit, which resulted in the city claiming eminent domain over the Bear Valley, water, resulting the loss of service, thus resulting in forcing most of Moreno Valley's inhabitants to move. The valley first acquired its current name, "Moreno Valley" at this time. The name was derived from Frank Brown's Name: "moreno" is Spanish for "brown".
|