Note: This was retyped on my computer from a copy I obtained at the California Room in the Feldheim Central Library in San Bernardino. I assume the typed copy to be as accurate as was possible, considering the original 1917 article was handwritten. I have made only a few very minor spelling and grammar corrections to make the article more readable, but I have made every attempt to keep the structure and language of the era intact. I hope you enjoy this glimpse back into local history! Remember, you can also see the original article and pictures of the Arrowhead School at the San Bernardino County Archives. It is located on Rialto Avenue in San Bernardino.
Compiled by Arrowhead School 1917
(Edited and retyped August 17, 2003)
Don Miguel Blancho was the first man to hold the Muscupiabe Rancho. It was first given to him in 1843 by the governor of California as a Mexican land grant. Don Miguel Blancho sold it to Michael White, who was the first white man to own it. When Fremont captured California in the name of the United States in 1846, all the land grants then issued had to be confirmed by the United States. The person who last owned the Muscupiabe Rancho as a whole was Mark S. Severance. He then sold small tracts of it but still holds a large part. One of the divisions he sold is the Arrowhead Heights, about which this account is written.
When the Mormons held San Bernardino they used to live in the city instead of going out and living on their farms. This was because the Indians were numerous at that time and very hostile, and living together made it safer for the Mormons. When they came out to plant their grain and plow the fields, the brought their rifles along to protect themselves from the Indians. They also built a wall of adobe across the little valley between the mountains and the foothills for the same reason.
They hunted for bears, lions, and deer for big game, and for smaller game they shot tree squirrels, rabbits, quail, and wild pigeons. The latter were very numerous. It is said that the sun was obscured as by a passing cloud when a flock flew over. The birds were so numerous because there were few people living here to frighten them away.
In 1889, there were only three families living in the Arrowhead Heights. This district they lived in was made up of one hundred and sixty acres of land.
People who came to live in this district called it such names as Glenn Eden, Hardscrabble, Arrowhead Settlement, and finally Arrowhead Heights.
The names of the people who lived here in 1889 were Lancaster, Bryant, and Williard. Lancaster owned eighty acres of land, Bryant owned forty, and Williard owned forty.
On one side of this settlement was a road leading to the mountains. This mountain road ran through some peoples' land whose name was Emrick and then over a stretch of land where the streetcar now runs. They used to charge toll on this old road because it was private. The county of San Bernardino has since built a new road which is very good.
The lumbermen who hauled wood from the mountains used the Settlement as a drag yard. That is, it was a sort of halfway station.
When it was found that fruits could be grown in the Settlement, the people wanted water so they could irrigate the fruit when they planted it. There was a creek which used to run down by the old county road. The people took this water to their land in open ditches and irrigated from these ditches.
The things grown in the Settlement were mostly grapes and grain.
In 1911, there was a big fire in the mountains by the Settlement. It burned for three weeks and had done a great deal of damage.
Not very long after the fire, a company of men were going to take the water which comes from the snow sheds on the other side of the divide of the mountains and bring it from there through the mountains and over the hills down into the Settlement. They even bought the land over which they intended bringing the water. Their plan was broken up because the people in the Mojave Desert said the Arrowhead Settlement had no right to the water because it was on the North of Mojave side of the divide. So the case was taken to court and the people of the Mojave were victorious.
There are traces of gold in the Arrowhead hills, but there is not enough gold to pay for mining it. If you would (look) in the Arrowhead hills you would find some deserted mines. A painter living in San Bernardino deserted them because he could not find enough gold to pay for all the work he had to put into them.
The present of the Arrowhead Heights is very good. The people are becoming prosperous and it is a good place for anyone wishing to buy a home. The new road was put from the city of San Bernardino to the Arrowhead road in 1916. This road has made Arrowhead Heights very popular as people come here more often because we have the good road.
There are one hundred and sixty acres in the Heights. It is divided into five, ten, and twenty acre ranches. At present, trees growing here are oranges, olives, lemons, peaches, pears, apples, apricots, almonds, grapefruit, walnuts, plums, and prunes. The chief fruits that are grown in orchards are oranges, lemons, peaches, and olives. Grapes are also grown extensively. There are a number of different trees grown for shade and for fuel. These trees are the cypress, eucalyptus, cottonwood, pepper tree, and umbrella.
The people get their water from Waterman Canyon. It is seperated from the stream and then brought down to the heights by flume and pipe.
Some of the farmers use the old Mormon wheat fields to plant their grain in. There are many acres lying idel, however, because of the lack of water. After the grain is cut, herds of sheep graze in the valley.
All the people of the Arrowhead Heights are looking forward to a very good future.
There were, formally, two schools in this district. One was over by the mountains, about two miles west of the present school, and one, still standing, on the present school site. They called the one over by the mountains the Fairview School and that was built about twenty-five years ago. Then the Arrowhead School was built a few years later. About fourteen years ago, they let the Fairview School go because there were few people living in the district. Then the districts were joined, thus making Arrowhead District much larger. When the Arrowhead School house was first built it was frequently used as a social center and often danced in. Two women saved the money they got for doing the janitor work for the school and bought an organ which they gave to the school. Mrs. Emrick and Miss Winegarth were the women who raised the money for this generous purpose.
The present trustees are Mr. C.B. Bell, Mr. J.W. Marshall, and Mr. E.D. Ryan.
We have a small garden on our school grounds in which we raise lettuce, radishes, turnips, carrots, red beets, and many other kinds of vegetables. We have a croquet ground, and play many other games. We have a sanitary fountain and in one corner of our school grounds is a good sized water tank. In our school we have eight pupils at the present. It is an eight grade school, but there is now only six grades.
The school house is quite a social center. The people have a dancing club which is called the Arrowhead Dancing Club and have a dance every Saturday night. They take turns in serving lunches. The new floor which makes this possible was laid gratis by Mr. Harry Simes and Mr. B.L. Bierce. The source of the music was at first a victorola and the same organ which was bought many years before by Mrs. Emrick and Miss Winegarth. Later a piano was rented and the people paid fifteen cents a piece every month to pay the rent on the piano, wages for a person to play, and other expenses.
Our school house is painted gray on the outside and has cement steps. In the inside it has a green ceiling and down about halfway on the sides which are plastered. The lower half of the wall is wainscoted. There is a branch of the county library in the school. The desks are all single desks and moveable so they may be moved to the side of the wall and put out of the way for the dance.