Editing Ontario, California (section)

=== United States (1847 onward) ===

==== 1800s ====
In January 1847, the area became controlled by the United States following the [[conquest of California]] as part of the [[Mexican–American War|Mexican-American War]], and was formalised by the [[Treaty of Cahuenga]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dale L. Walker |url=http://archive.org/details/bearflagrisingco00walk_0 |title=Bear Flag rising |date=1999 |publisher=Forge |isbn=978-0-312-86685-3}}</ref> Under the [[Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo]] in 1848, the United States recognised the existing land tenure, and took formal control of the land. It ruled it under a [[Interim government of California|military administration]] until a new civilian body was established in December 1849, which became the state of [[California]] in September 1850. In February 1850, the interim California government established [[Los Angeles County, California|Los Angeles County]]. (The earlier Los Angeles municipal government did not cover today's Ontario.)<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Guinn |first1=J. M. |last2=Stearns |first2=Abel |last3=Valdez |first3=Bacillo |last4=Herrera |first4=Jose M. |date=1907 |title=FROM PUEBLO TO CIUDAD. The Municipal and Territorial Expansion of Los Angeles |journal=Annual Publication of the Historical Society of Southern California |volume=7 |issue=2/3 |pages=216–221 |doi=10.2307/41168646 |issn=2162-9145 |jstor=41168646}}</ref>

The new Californian administration soon began a war of extermination against the Tongva, which came to be known as being part of the [[California genocide]].<ref name=":0" /> 1850's [[Act for the Government and Protection of Indians]] ensured that slavery of the people it covered remained legal.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=yLbNA_3CdcQC&dq=%22Act+for+the+Government+and+Protection+of+Indians%22&pg=PA822 '''Compiled laws of the State of California: containing all the acts of the Legislature of a public and general nature, now in force, passed at the sessions of 1850-51-52-53''', Benicia, S. Garfeilde, 1853. pp. 822-825 An Act for the Government and Protection of Indians]</ref>

[[San Bernardino County, California|San Bernardino County]] was founded in 1853, following the establishment of [[San Bernardino, California|a new Mormon settlement]]. A road was built between San Bernardino and Los Angeles that year, passing through Rancho Cucamonga.<ref name=":1" />

Rancho Cucamonga was sold in 1858 to [[John Rains House|John Rains]].

Slavery of Native Americans became illegal in California in 1865.<ref name="OHP2">{{cite web |last1=Dutschke |first1=Dwight |date=2014 |title=A History of American Indians in California |url=http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/pages/1054/files/american%20indians%20in%20california.pdf |access-date=October 10, 2016 |website=California Office of Historic Preservation, Five Views: An Ethnic Historic Site Survey for California}}</ref>

John Rain's heirs sold Rancho Cucamonga in 1870 to an [[Isaias W. Hellman|Isaias Hellman]]-led syndicate,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Richardson |first=Katie |title=Guides: Pomona Valley Historical Collection: Ranchos |url=https://libguides.library.cpp.edu/c.php?g=771946&p=6014369 |access-date=January 1, 2024 |website=libguides.library.cpp.edu |language=en}}</ref> the "Cucamonga Company".<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last1=Brown |first1=John |url=http://archive.org/details/historyofsanbern01brow |title=History of San Bernardino and Riverside counties / with selected biography of actors and witnesses of the period of growth and achievement.. |last2=Boyd |first2=James |date=1922 |location=Madison, WI |publisher=The Western Historical Association |others=Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center}}</ref> 20 years after the initial application, the California government formally converted the title of the rancho to freehold in 1872.<ref name=":02" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Report of the Surveyor General 1844–1886 |url=http://www.slc.ca.gov/Misc_Pages/Historical/Surveyors_General/reports/Willey_1884_1886.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130320000647/http://www.slc.ca.gov/Misc_Pages/Historical/Surveyors_General/reports/Willey_1884_1886.pdf |archive-date=March 20, 2013 |publisher=[[California|State of California]] |via=slc.ca.gov}}</ref>

In 1881, the Chaffey brothers, [[George Chaffey|George]] and [[William Chaffey|William]], purchased a parcel of Hellman's Rancho Cucamonga land, and rights to Mount San Antonio water. The brothers established a settlement they named "Ontario" in honor of the [[Provinces and territories of Canada|province]] of [[Ontario]] in [[Canada]], where they were from.<ref>[https://www.ontarioca.gov/Planning/HistoricPreservation#:~:text=The%20township%20of%20Ontario%2C%20California,for%20the%20Community%20of%20Ontario. Historic Preservation | City of Ontario, California]</ref>

The land was sometimes referred to the "San Antonio lands", as they included half the water rights to [[Mount San Antonio]]<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hackenberger |first=Benjamin C. |date=January 2015 |title=The San Antonio Wash: Addressing the Gap Between Claremont and Upland |url=https://scholarship.claremont.edu/pomona_theses/136/ |journal=Pomona Senior Theses}}</ref> (colloquially known as "Mount Baldy"). They engineered a drainage system channelling water from the foothills of the mountain down to the flatter lands below that performed the dual functions of allowing farmers to water their crops and preventing the floods that periodically afflict them.

They also created the main thoroughfare of Euclid Avenue ([[State Route 83 (California)|California Highway 83]]), with its distinctive wide lanes and grassy median. A mule-drawn passenger tramway was used from 1887 to 1895 on the central reservation the Avenue, operated by the [[Ontario and San Antonio Heights Railroad Company]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pacific Electric Ontario & San Antonio Heights Line |url=https://www.erha.org/peeosah.htm |access-date=March 11, 2024 |website=www.erha.org}}</ref>

The San Antonio Water Company was incorporated in October 1882. Since then it has served the area that is today Ontario, Upland and, San Antonio Heights, and to a lesser extent Montclair.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://www.sawaterco.com/history |access-date=2024-07-20 |website=San Antonio Water Company |language=en}}</ref>

In 1885, the Chaffey brothers opened a campus of the [[University of Southern California]]. This included a secondary school.

Also in 1885, the ''[[The Daily Report (Ontario, California)|Ontario Record]]'' newspaper was founded. (It would later be known as ''The Daily Report''.)

The new "Model Colony" (called so because it offered the perfect balance between agriculture and the urban comforts of schools, churches, and commerce) was originally conceived as a [[Teetotalism|dry]] town, early deeds containing clauses forbidding the manufacture or sale of alcoholic beverages within the town.
[[File:Interior_of_citrus_packing_house,_Ontario,_ca.1905_(CHS-1677).jpg|thumb|Interior of citrus packing house in Ontario, 1905]]
Ontario attracted farmers (primarily growing [[citrus]]) and ailing Easterners seeking a drier climate (often to treat [[tuberculosis]]). To impress visitors and potential settlers with the "abundance" of water in Ontario, a fountain was placed at the [[Ontario station (Amtrak)|Southern Pacific railway station]]. It was turned on when passenger trains were approaching and frugally turned off again after their departure. The original "Chaffey fountain," a simple spigot surrounded by a ring of white stones, was later replaced by the more ornate "Frankish Fountain", an art nouveau creation now located outside the Ontario Museum of History and Art.<ref>{{cite web |title=The City of Ontario's Citrus Industry |url=https://www.ontarioca.gov/sites/default/files/Ontario-Files/Planning/Historic_Preservation/citrus_industry.pdf}}</ref> Agriculture was vital to the early economy, and many street names recall this legacy. The [[Sunkist Growers, Incorporated|Sunkist]] plant remains as a living vestige of the citrus era.

The Chaffey brothers left in 1886 to found the Australian irrigation settlements of [[Mildura, Victoria|Mildura]] and [[Renmark, South Australia|Renmark]], selling their Ontario assets to the Ontario Land & Improvement Company. Its president was Charles Frankish.<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 June 1980 |title=NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY &ndash; NOMINATION FORM |url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/5038fc9f-c181-414a-8b78-cffcf286ff6b |website=National Park Service}}</ref> He founded the [[Ontario State Bank Block|Ontario State Bank]] in 1887, the settlement's first bank.<ref name=":22">{{Cite web |title=California Genealogy Trails - Californian American Bios page 8 |url=http://genealogytrails.com/cal/americanbios_page8.html |access-date=January 2, 2024 |website=genealogytrails.com}}</ref>

Central Ontario was incorporated as a city in 1891.<ref name=":12" /> The San Antonio Electric Light & Power Company was organized in 1891 to provide electricity to Ontario, Pomona and Redlands.<ref name=":12" /> 
[[File:GraberOliveHouseVatRoom.JPG|thumb|The olive vat room at [[Graber Olive House]] in Ontario, California. In 1894, two years after planting olive trees in Ontario, C. C. Graber began selling [[Back olive|vat cured olives]] from the pictured vat room in vats similar to the ones pictured. Graber Olive House is the oldest operating olive packer in the United States.]]
The [[Graber Olive House]] was established in 1894, and is now the longest operating olive packing business in the United States.

In 1895, the Ontario Electric Company was established by Charles Frankish.<ref name=":22" /> In its first year it took over the mule-cars, and replaced them with electrical powered vehicles.<ref name=":22" />

==== 1900s ====
The City of Ontario's territory was greatly expanded in 1900.<ref name=":12" />

Tens of thousands of European immigrants came to work in agriculture. In the early 1900s, the first [[Filipino American|Filipinos]] and [[Japanese American|Japanese]] farm laborers arrived, and later many came to own plant nurseries.<ref>{{cite web |title=City History - DOIA |date=September 9, 2020 |url=https://downtownontario.org/city-history/}}</ref>

In 1901, the original college closed, and a new [[Ontario High School (California)|Ontario High School]] replaced it. This soon became [[Chaffey College]], and offered college courses as well as high school education.

Ontario was declared a "model colony" by an act of Congress in 1903.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Historic Preservation {{!}} City of Ontario, California |url=https://www.ontarioca.gov/Planning/HistoricPreservation |access-date=March 11, 2024 |website=www.ontarioca.gov}}</ref>

North Ontario broke away from the city in 1906, calling itself [[Upland, California|Upland]].<ref name=":12" />

In 1912, the streetcar line became the [[Upland–Ontario Line]] of [[Pacific Electric]]. It was closed in 1928.

In 1929, the city of Ontario established the Ontario Municipal Airport. This is now the [[Ontario International Airport]], and is the largest employer in the city.

AM radio station [[KSPA|KOCS]] began in 1946,<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 18, 2021 |title=Radio, radio {{!}} The David Allen Blog |url=http://www.insidesocal.com/davidallen/2008/04/25/radio-radio/ |access-date=March 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418134338/http://www.insidesocal.com/davidallen/2008/04/25/radio-radio/ |archive-date=April 18, 2021 }}</ref> which was followed by sister station [[KDEY-FM|KOCS-FM]] in 1947. The stations initially operated as part of The Daily Report, and would go on to change their name, format and ownership many times.

In 1960, the higher education part of Chaffey College moved to nearby Rancho Cucamonga.

From 1970 to 1980, the [[Ontario Motor Speedway]] hosted motor racing events including the [[California 500 (IndyCar)|California 500]], and music events like [[California Jam]].

The [[Cardenas (supermarket)|Cardenas]] supermarket chain began in Ontario in 1981.

''[[The Daily Report (Ontario, California)|The Daily Report]]'' merged with the nearby ''[[Progress Bulletin]]'' to become the ''[[Inland Valley Daily Bulletin]]'' in 1990.

An [[Ontario–East station|Ontario station]] of the [[Metrolink (California)|Metrolink]] rail service opened in 1993 (it later became known as "Ontario – East").

Large shopping mall [[Ontario Mills]] opened to the public on November 14, 1996, on the old Ontario Motor Speedway parking lot.

On December 13, 1996, [[AMC Theatres]] opened AMC Ontario Mills 30 in Ontario, which it billed as the "world's largest theater".<ref name="open2">{{cite book |last1=Hayes |first1=Dade |url=https://archive.org/details/openwidehowholly00haye |title=Open Wide: How Hollywood Box Office Became a National Obsession |last2=Bing |first2=Jonathan |publisher=Miramax Books |year=2004 |isbn=1401352006 |location=New York |pages=[https://archive.org/details/openwidehowholly00haye/page/311 311]-[https://archive.org/details/openwidehowholly00haye/page/317 317] |url-access=registration}}</ref> Three months later, [[Edwards Theaters]] opened the Edwards Ontario Palace 22 across the street.<ref name="open2" /> Ontario now had 52 screens on the one site, more than any other location in the United States.<ref name="open2" /> The opening of that many screens in the Inland Empire came about as the culmination of a lifelong rivalry between AMC's Stanley Durwood and Edwards Theaters' James Edwards.<ref name="open2" />  Edwards was infuriated when he learned Durwood had beaten him to a deal with Ontario Mills, and later told him, "I had to teach you a lesson".<ref name="open2" />

The Ontario Convention Centre opened in 1997.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 1, 2022 |title=Ontario Convention Center Celebrates 25 Years! |url=https://gocvb.org/city-news/2022/03/01/ontario-convention-center-celebrates-25-years/ |access-date=March 11, 2024 |website=GOCal |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 1999, the large agricultural area in the south of Ontario (the "ag preserve") was rezoned for residential and commercial use. This area was now described as the "New Model Colony", before being renamed [[Ontario Ranch, California|Ontario Ranch]], and finally New Haven.<ref>{{Cite web |title=New Homes in Ontario, CA {{!}} New Haven Community |url=https://newhavenlife.com/ |access-date=March 11, 2024 |website=newhavenlife.com}}</ref>

==== 2000s ====
The [[University of La Verne]] opened a law-focused campus in Ontario in 2001.

In 2008, the [[Ontario Community Events Center]] opened. It hosts a number of professional minor-league indoor sports teams. Also that year, [[West Coast University]] opened a campus in the city.<ref>{{Cite web |title=West Coast University - University History |url=https://westcoastuniversity.smartcatalogiq.com/en/summer-2024/summer-2024/about-west-coast-university/university-history/ |access-date=2024-12-07 |website=westcoastuniversity.smartcatalogiq.com}}</ref>

The headquarters of the [[Southern Baptist Convention|Southern Baptist Convention's]] [[Gateway Seminary]] moved to Ontario in 2016.

[[Amazon (company)|Amazon]] opened their largest United States warehouse in Ontario in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-10-01 |title=Amazon's largest U.S. warehouse is in this Inland Empire city |url=https://www.dailybulletin.com/2024/10/01/amazons-largest-u-s-warehouse-is-in-this-inland-empire-city/ |access-date=2024-10-02 |website=Daily Bulletin |language=en-US}}</ref>