Editing Calimesa, California (section)

===Beginnings===
[[Serrano people]] and the [[Cahuilla people]] inhabited the area.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cityofcalimesa.net/236/Historical-Calimesa|title=Historical Calimesa &#124; Calimesa, CA|website=www.cityofcalimesa.net|access-date=March 20, 2024|archive-date=March 20, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240320034012/https://www.cityofcalimesa.net/236/Historical-Calimesa|url-status=live}}</ref>

The modern history of the area was initiated with the establishment of [[Spanish missions in California|Spanish missions]] in [[Alta California]] in 1769. The need for a land route to these missions inspired Captain Juan Bautista de Anza to lead a party through the area in 1774. As early as 1820, reference can be found to the messenger footpath for the missions in Arizona to the San Gabriel Mission.

The Assistencia in Redlands (which has been rebuilt), and Rancho San Gorgonio, were part of the San Gabriel Mission located near today's Los Angeles. The San Gorgonio ''rancheria'' covered most of the San Gorgonio Pass area.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gunther |first1=Jane Davies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CwwSAQAAIAAJ |title=Riverside County, California, Place Names; Their Origins and Their Stories |date=1984 |edition=1st |location= |page=458}}</ref> A site within the rancheria, the location of the present [[Highland Springs Resort/Ranch & Inn|Highland Springs Ranch & Inn]], along with Whitewater, and a house at the east end of present-day Singleton Road in Calimesa, all became stage stops along this path.

The post office reinforced the residents' feeling of a community separate from the town of Yucaipa. In 1939 or 1940, the Calimesa Improvement Association, Inc. was formed. According to the constitution of the association, “The object and purpose of the association shall be the development and improvement of Calimesa and The Community”. Volunteers built a community center at the corner of Bryant and Avenue H, which had been designated a park site by the Redlands-Yucaipa Land Company. The "South Mesa Water Company" purchased the land for a well site and allowed the association to use it for community events.

In 1962, the Calimesa Improvement Association became the Calimesa Chamber of Commerce. The Improvement Association and the Chamber have operated as a mix of promoting Calimesa, providing community service, and being a sounding board for residents’ problems. Prior to 1949, the fire protection for the valley was provided by the California Department of Forestry at the Avenue A station, which today is the office of County Service Area 63 in Yucaipa. Calimesa community members felt the need for more protection on the south side of the wash, so in 1949 they formed the Volunteer Fire Department.