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A NEW CITY—iMdntclair’s first city government began in 1956, the town of Monte Vista. The first councilmen included, from left to right, Dana Pankey, Jr., Glen R. Wolfe, Mayor James West, Miller Buchanan and Paul V. Frame.f COMMUNITY HISTORYAssembling at the new city hall last Tuesday evening, the city of Monte Vista representedFriday, October 21, 1955 In a statement issued earlier this week by Joe Nepote, chairman of the Petitions Committee for incorporation, it was learnedthat Monte Vistans are solidly behind the movement calling for a special election to determine if Monte Vista will become an incorporated city.Nepote stated, “From all indications we are maintaining better than a 95 percent average.In other words, he stated, 4Svehave completely covered certain area 8 and with very few exceptions we are obtaining 100 percent signatures on the petitions.” This is even better than we initially anticipated,” Nepote stated. He estimated the committee has covered approximately 60 percent of the entire Monte Vista area and of this the committee is maintaining its exceptionally high average of signatures,Friday, May 11, 1956by Its newly-elected officers and over 60 interested residents held its first council meeting, marking the historical ‘'kick-off of California's newest city.The first order of business was the naming of a chairman. James West was unanimously appointed Monte Vista's first mayor. Councilman Paul Frame was named Mayor Pro-tem,Montclair Past And PresentBy SflVI BAN!Of Ik* frlfcw* StiffMontclair has been incorporated since 1956. At that time, the name of the city was Monte Vista and before that, the community of Narod. The Tribune, in a continuing weekly series, will be printing excerpts of events that occurred and were recorded in early editions of the Monte Vista” and Montclair Tribune, but what of events occurring before 1955?The Montclair Library has three sources of Montclair'spast, said Librarian Dorothy Berkoff, The most complete records come from a publication of the Montclair Woman's Club, entitled “Montclair, Past and Present.”Their records go back to 1774 when the adventurer, Captain Juan Bautista de Anza reportedly led a group of 34 men inland from Tubac, Mexico to the San Gabriel Mission,De Anza was said to have carved the initials 1HS on a large sycamore tree near San Antonio Creek, what is now Mills Ave, Considered the first white man to visit the area, De Anza was probably observed by the Serrano Indians. Living off the foodsupply of the mountains, these spirit-fearing Indians are assumed to be the first inhabitants of the area.The famed Jedediah Strong Smith is claimed to be the first United States citizen to visit the area, in 1826, Leading his people from east to west twice in two years, Smith endured nature and hostile Indians, finally succumbing in 1 854 at the age of 56 after being wounded by a grizzly bear on fee slopes erf Mount Baldy.Time passed, the great ranches were formed and divided, the gold rush era of the mid-19fe century passed. Many of the Indians were transferred to reservations andhomesteaders began to enter theVAUfiycThe “Arroyo de los Alls os,” San Antonio Creek, was reported to have flooded the Montclair area in 1894, The damage was said to be extensive. The force of the waters changed San Andonio Creek's main course from the Mills Ave, area to what is now the flood control channel.Three years later the township of Marquette was formed; land in Montclair was open to the public for sale.During the early part of the 1900s, what is now Montclair was not used extensively for any particular use. As citrus groves expanded on all four sides of the area, the four square miles was eventually utilized for agriculture.An old map at the Adobe Palo-mares in Pomona identified the Montclair area as Grey Granite Rock, close by the words “Cluster of Sycamores.” Early settlers found rocks to build their homes in what is now Montclair.In 1906 Harvey Hanawalt from La Verne bought the land where grey rock was plentiful, north of San Bernardino St, One of fee first businesses in the area, Hanawalt reportedly used a horse and small cart to transfer the rock by shovel from the rock pit to building sites.The information concerning Hanawalt was given by Mrs, M, Hanawalt of La Verne. She recollects a view of young eucalyptus trees northeast of the rock pits, orange groves and new frame houses in fee distance. She has memories of water 40 to 50 feet deep in the pits during the floodof 1938, Mrs, Hanawalt has a sycamore tree in her back yard taken from the gravel pit as a sapling, a constant remmder of things that were and are no more.As part of fee Monte Vista Land Tract, the settlement lt;rf Narod included a dry goods store,hotel, packing house and little white church, wrote local Women's Club member DorothyPaul. Approximately 15 familieswere scattered in the land tract. Some of the first meetings of the church were held in a shed.Most of the homes were wood frame duplicates of the family homes in other states, wrote Mrs. Paul, They were set back off the roads, eventually to be hidden by orange groves. Initially there were no trees; the families had to plant their own. Roads were oiled and people could ride bicycles as far as Cucamonga. A local train from the Salt Lake Line, now Union, would stop and take passengers to Pomona or Ontario.Children attended the old Monte Vista School; the building was moved to Holt Ave* around 1911. Afterwards, parents hired a man to take children to Chino schools. The following year Ontario sent out busses for the students*The Women's Club publication continues with past memories ofarea residents. Recollections include windmills, native sycamores and brush, flood water a cresting over the flood control areas, coyotes and very few neighbors.January of 1913 was reportedly tragic economically for local farmers. A period of cold killed many of the young citrus plants* The trees that did survive lost all their leaves and fruit. The following year farmers went into debt to purchase new citrus plants.James Nisbet remembers eight to ten acres of eucalyptus trees growing on Holt Blvd, as far as the northeast corner of Kingsley and Ramona. Other trees were mostly palms, sycamores and orange. Apricot groves were planted in 1906.As time progressed, the Monte Vista Water District was formed. The town grew and prospered with the company.
Newspaper Details
Montclair Tribune
Montclair, California, US
Thu, Apr 05, 1973
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Los A.
CA, USA 20 Jan 2021
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