Editing Moreno Valley, California (section)

==History==
===Indigenous period===
The Moreno Valley area was first inhabited 2,300 years ago. There are at least 200 prehistoric archaeological locations within the city. The majority of the sites are milling stations - where chaparral seed was the dominant milling activity. Rock art, consisting of [[pictographs]], and [[petroglyphs]] are present - though most of the petroglyphs in Moreno Valley consist of [[boulders]] with "cupules",  or cup-shaped holes pecked into them.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.pe.com/articles/chacon-821942-bird-singing.html|title=Moreno Valley filmmakers explore Native American culture with 'We Are Birds'|date= December 28, 2016|newspaper=[[Press Enterprise]]|first=Stan |last=Lim|access-date=March 6, 2017}}</ref>

===Spanish & Mexican periods===
[[File:Portrait of Juan Bautista de Anza (Painted by Fray Orci; 1774, Mexico City).jpg|thumb|left|Famed Spanish explorer [[Juan Bautista de Anza]], whose expedition came through the area in 1774.]]
Spanish scouts initially came across descendants of the [[Shoshone]], and [[Luiseño]] tribes; although other groups, such as the [[Serrano (people)|Serrano]] and [[Cahuilla]] were in the area. The late prehistoric [[Luiseño]] and [[Cahuilla]] were semi-sedentary, meaning that they wintered in villages, then spread out in family groups during the spring and summer months to harvest seeds and acorns.<ref>{{cite web|title=Environmental Impact Report City of Moreno Valley General Plan Vol. 1|url=http://www.moreno-valley.ca.us/city_hall/general-plan/06gpfinal/ieir/eir-tot.pdf|website=moreno-valley.ca.us|access-date=April 9, 2015}}</ref>

Spanish scouts blazed a number of trails in the area, including the [[Anza Trail]], which runs through the [[Edgemont, Riverside County, California|Edgemont]] area of present-day Moreno Valley.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://moval.gov/resident_services/mv-history.html|title=Moreno Valley History}}</ref>

===Post-Conquest period===
When California was admitted to the [[United States]] as a state in 1850, Americans began to move into the area. The [[Tucson, Arizona|Tucson]]-to-[[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]] route of [[John Warren Butterfield|John Butterfield]]'s [[Overland Mail Company]] passed through it. Some farmers began to occupy the area, relying upon water from Frank E. Brown's Bear Valley Land and Water Company. Beginning in 1883, the company collected and pumped water from Bear Valley in the [[San Bernardino Mountains]] to the north. The area first acquired its current name, Moreno Valley, at this time, referring to Frank Brown (''moreno'' is [[Spanish language|Spanish]] for "brown" or "brunet").<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sep 25, 1960, page 55 - The San Bernardino County Sun at Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/51559515/ |access-date=2024-06-10 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref> In 1899, the city of [[Redlands, California|Redlands]] won a lawsuit in which the city claimed [[eminent domain]] over the Bear Valley water. The resulting loss of service forced most of the area's inhabitants to move.

[[File:Riverside Raceway.JPG|thumb|From 1957 to 1989, the [[Riverside International Raceway]] occupied the current site of the [[Moreno Valley Mall]].]]

[[File:Moreno Valley-Ironwood view.jpg|thumb|A view of Moreno Valley looking west down Ironwood Avenue. [[Box Springs Mountain]] is visible at right.]]

====Incorporation and growth====

By 1984, the population was 49,702 (compared to 18,871 residents in 1970).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.moreno-valley.ca.us/community/about.shtml|title=About Moreno Valley|access-date=April 29, 2015}}</ref> The state economic boom fueled the construction of new houses and businesses, leading to a push for the area to [[incorporation (municipal government)|incorporate]] as a city. Although similar measures had failed previously in 1968 and 1983, the measure to form the city of Moreno Valley was approved by the area's voters in 1984. On December 3, 1984, the communities of Edgemont, Sunnymead, and Moreno united along with nearby areas to form the general law city of Moreno Valley. The first city council was also elected in 1984. It was composed of [[Bob Lynn]], Judith A. Nieburger, Steven Webb, J. David Horspool (first Mayor Pro Tem), and Marshall C. Scott (first Mayor). The city seal and motto were adopted the following year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pressenterprise.com/2014/12/29/moreno-valley-growth-battles-are-part-of-city8217s-history/|title=MORENO VALLEY: Growth battles are part of city’s history}}</ref>

====March Air Reserve Base====
In November 2008, DHL announced it was leaving the U.S. market and would shut its operation associated with March Air Field in January 2009.<ref>"Inland airports' dream of cargo hubs grounded," Press-Enterprise newspaper, Thursday, November 20, 2008</ref>

===21st century===
On February 13, 2007, the city council passed, by a vote of 4–1, a resolution christening the eastern half of the city (roughly from Lasselle Street to Gilman Springs Road) "Rancho Belago", a [[pastiche]] of Spanish and Italian words.<ref>{{cite web |department=Resolution No. 2007-14 |quote=Item G2 - Establishment of  "Rancho Belago" as a Community Name for the area generally east of Lasselle Street within the City of Moreno Valley |publisher=City of Moreno Valley, California |title=Minutes of February 13, 2007 City Council Meeting|access-date=September 23, 2016 |url=http://www.moreno-valley.ca.us/city_council/archive/07_agendas/021307_minutes.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Area sounds 'bella' to some. MORENO VALLEY: Some city leaders want to call the eastern section of town "Rancho Belago." |newspaper=[[The Press-Enterprise]] |first=Dan |last= Lee |date=January 20, 2007 |url=http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_R_rname21.43a1895.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926215829/http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_R_rname21.43a1895.html |archive-date=September 26, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Moreno Valley experienced similar mortgage crisis in 1990s |newspaper=[[The Press-Enterprise]] |first=Dan |last= Lee |date=April 22, 2007 |url=http://www.pe.com/localnews/perris/stories/PE_News_Local_D_moreno22.3dbd6df.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929083154/http://www.pe.com/localnews/perris/stories/PE_News_Local_D_moreno22.3dbd6df.html |archive-date=September 29, 2007}}</ref> The city council's resolution includes the 92555 ZIP Code within the boundaries of the area, as reported by the ''Press Enterprise'' newspaper.