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20 Fun And Awesome Facts About Colton, California, United States

Colton is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. Take a look below for 20 fun and awesome facts about Colton, California, United States.

1. Nicknamed “Hub City”, Colton is located in the Inland Empire region of the state and is a suburb of San Bernardino, approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) south of the city’s downtown.

2. The population of Colton is 52,154 according to the 2010 census, up from 47,662 at the 2000 census.

3. Colton is the site of Colton Crossing, which was one of the busiest at-grade railroad crossings in the United States.

4. The crossing was installed in 1882 by the California Southern Railroad to cross the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks while building northward from San Diego.

5. As a result of railroad acquisitions and mergers, this became the point at which the Burlington Northern Santa Fe’s “Southern Transcontinental Route” crossed the Union Pacific’s “Sunset Route”.

6. As traffic on each line began to soar in the mid-1990s, fueled largely by the vast increase in imports passing through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the primitive crossing became a serious bottleneck.

7. On August 28, 2013, the at-grade crossing was officially replaced by a fly-over that raises the east–west UP tracks over the north–south BNSF tracks.

8. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 16.0 square miles (41 km2). 15.3 square miles (40 km2) of it is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km2) of it (4.46%) is water.

9. Slover Mountain, once the highest point in San Bernardino Valley and the site of the Colton Liberty Flag, is located in the city.

10. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Colton has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated “Csa” on climate maps.

11. In the California State Legislature, Colton is in the 20th Senate District, represented by Democrat Connie Leyva, and in the 47th Assembly District, represented by Democrat Eloise Reyes.

12. In the United States House of Representatives, Colton is in California’s 31st congressional district, represented by Democrat Pete Aguilar.

13. Colton was founded in 1875 and incorporated in 1887.

14. Before Spanish settlement, the area was inhabited by the Serrano, Guachama, and San Gorgonio Indians.

15. During the Mission Era the Mission San Gabriel established a Spanish settlement Politana in 1810, just northeast of what is now Colton.

16. By 1840, Colton was part of two private ranchos, Jurupa and San Bernardino Rancho.

17. From southwest area of modern-day Colton was known as “Agua Mansa” (Gentle Waters). It had been settled by New Mexico pioneers in 1842.

18. What is currently known as Cooley Ranch was known as Indian Knolls for nearly 100 years. This is because the Indians living in what is now the San Bernardino Valley found refuge on the knolls of the property during the flood of 1862.

19. The original owner of the property was George Cooley of Kent, England who had moved to Colton in 1853 and who purchased 200 acres at $3.50 an acre along the Santa Ana River the next year. Cooley was chairman of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors in San Bernardino County.

20. By 1873, the property had mushroomed into a 400-acre property. Eventually, when property taxes had increased, the property was sold to Villelli Enterprises of La Habra. The city was named after David Douty Colton, who had been a Brigadier General of the California State Militia in 1855, prior to the Civil War. He was later the Vice President of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company.

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