On Arrowhead Lake Road 0.1 miles north of Welsh Road, on the right when traveling north.
A prehistoric Indian village
called Atongai once existed
here. In 1776, famed Padre
Garces visited this settlement,
where in 1819 mission native
converts began building a
place for Christian worship. Their efforts
failed when they were killed . . . — — Map (db m166604) HM
On California Route 138 at Summit Post Office Road, on the left when traveling east on California Route 138.
Elliot Ranch is just south of this
point, in Little Horse Thief Canyon.
It is the thirty acre homestead of
William and Lena Elliot built in 1927. The family with eight children truly lived frontier lives in wilderness
surroundings. . . . — — Map (db m166295) HM
On Spruce Street just west of Hesperia Road, on the right when traveling west.
A three story, world famous
brick hotel stood here for 74
years. It was the region's finest
building for years, and had hot
and cold water on each floor plus a toilet. — — Map (db m166544) HM
On Main Street just east of 3rd Avenue, on the right when traveling east.
These three granite stones were part of the foundation of possibly the High Deserts’
greatest landmark. The Hesperia Hotel was built in the late 1880's.
This magnificent Hotel stood as a skyscraper at the corner of Hesperia Road and Spruce
for . . . — — Map (db m166538) HM
On Spruce Street just west of Hesperia Road, on the right when traveling west.
A 15 foot by 20 foot, wooden,
moveable station once stood
directly across Hesperia Road
from here. A 12 foot by 12 foot
jail was built alongside.
In the beginning, the California
Southern Railroad used
Hesperia for a
stopping
point. — — Map (db m166550) HM
On Arrowhead Lake Road north of Welsh Road, on the right when traveling north.
In 1886, a rock monument was placed near here by
the Hesperia Land and Water Company. Required by
law, the monument gave notice that 5,000 miners
inches of water per minute was to be taken from
this point for use in Hesperia, enough water . . . — — Map (db m166568) HM
Remembering
Roy O. Gonce, September 11, 1933 - December 20, 2017;
Susan A. Gonce, March 30, 1943 - March 18, 1998;
Roy E. Gonce, July 29, 1975 - January 29, 2014.
The Gonce family, Roy, Susan and their two kids, Roy and Becky, chose this . . . — — Map (db m214311) HM
On Arrowhead Lake Road 0.1 miles south of Centennial Street, on the right when traveling south.
A free, graded road crossed here, running from Holcomb Valley to join the Brown Toll Road through the Cajon Pass. Citizens of Belleville raised $1,500 in 1861 to hire Jed Van Duzen, a local blacksmith, to build this road. — — Map (db m166290) HM
On Choiceana Avenue north of Lilac Street, on the right when traveling north.
In 1848, a detour branched off the ancient
Mojave Trail (parallels Choiceana Avenue) going
west to Cajon's old summit. In 1870, road maker
John Brown enlarged the detour which with
time became a major thoroughfare. Padre Garces,
Jed Smith, Kit . . . — — Map (db m166560) HM
On Main St 0.1 miles east of Seventh Avenue, on the right when traveling east.
In 1870, road builder John A.
Brown upgraded a small
path into a road ten miles
in length. Running between
Cajon's old summit and the
prehistoric Mojave Trail, it
passed through Hesperia
diagonally crossing today's
Main Street in the . . . — — Map (db m166640) HM
Near California Route 173 2 miles east of Route 138.
This is a four-sided monument with four markers:
Near this spot on March 25, 1866, Edwin Parrish, Nephi Bemis and Pratt Whiteside, young cowboys employed on this ranch, were ambushed, killed and mutilated by Piute Indians, who then . . . — — Map (db m166670) HM
Largest old barn in Southern California. Erected in 1872 by ranch owners, Amos P. Houlton and James F. Houghton, with lumber cut and transported from Sawpit Canyon by oxen. — — Map (db m166669) HM
Near Main Street 0.1 miles west of Interstate 15, on the left when traveling west.
Miller's Corner was created when State
Highway 31-C bypassed downtown Hesperia.
This corner received its name from an auto
mechanic named Miller who in 1923 opened a
garage here.
1930 saw a large national airport built
immediately south . . . — — Map (db m166535) HM
Near Arrowhead Lake Road 0.7 miles south of Ranchero Road, on the left when traveling south.
Mojave Indian Trail
Over 12,000 years ago the Anasazi people originally used the trail. In prehistoric times, the trail was used as a trade route to the sea. South of this area also lies the Vanyume village of Atongai, long extinct. . . . — — Map (db m166638) HM
On Yucca Street west of C Avenue, on the left when traveling west.
This is the oldest existing building in
the city. On the first day of school, 23
students were on hand. For the next
74 years, the school continued to grow.
With one teacher and
first through eighth
grades all in one room,
this frontier . . . — — Map (db m166555) HM
On Maple Avenue at Muscatel Street, on the right when traveling south on Maple Avenue.
In 1850, a man named Hanbrier erected the first commercial building in Topipa, Hesperia‘s original Indian name. A major road passed this general store leading to and from Cajon’s old summit. Homesteaders settled close by, but years of drought drove . . . — — Map (db m166668) HM
On Hesperia Road 0.1 miles south of Muscatel Street, on the right when traveling south.
Life giving water, urgently
needed in growing Hesperia,
first arrived at this place in
1886. Flumes, pipe, and
ditches transported it seven
miles from high in the San
Bernardino Mountains.
By the 1950's, Hesperia's
water came from wells . . . — — Map (db m166556) HM
On Mariposa Road 0.2 miles north of Joshua Street, on the left when traveling north.
This was as close as Hesperia
got to Route 66. In 1940, Leroy
and Della Rolar opened a
service station-cafe on this
property to help serve
increasing motorists'
needs along Route 66.
State Highway 31-C
became U.S. Route 66 in
1928. Actually . . . — — Map (db m166730) HM
On California Route 138 at Summit Post Office Road, on the left when traveling east on California Route 138.
The station was first named in
1887. This important railroad
center began its decline in 1967
and no longer exists. Here, for
over half a century, mighty
steam engines thundered by in
their battle to cross the
menacing Cajon
Pass. A . . . — — Map (db m166292) HM
On Juniper Street at Hesperia Road, on the right when traveling west on Juniper Street.
Walters Store is the oldest
existing business building in
the city. It started out as a
general merchandise store. Here,
young Hesperia purchased its
needs as did motorists who passed
by for nine years
using the National
Old Trails Road. — — Map (db m166554) HM
