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Moreno
Valley Community Information
Moreno Valley is a dynamic community
half-way between Los Angeles and Palm Springs. Nestled between local
mountains and Lake Perris, Moreno Valley is uniquely located one hour
from the mountains, the desert, and the ocean.
Once an infant among
California cities, now an emerging giant within the ranks of national
urban growth, the City of Moreno Valley is home to over 146,000
residents.
The City incorporated in
December of 1984, and its population has almost tripled during its brief
history. Moreno Valley represents one of the most dynamic economic
market potentials in contemporary California. But, this was not always
the case.
The initial inhabitants of
the valley were American Indians, a renegade sect of the Shoshones.
These early settlers dotted the area wherever springs or rivers provided
water. They developed a pastoral culture nourished by a daily staple of
acorn mush supplemented by any available game and edible insects. Rock
"metate" bowls used to grind the acorns are still found around
Moreno Valley, as are primitive rock paintings.
This was the setting found
by the first explorers from Spain who, coming north from Mexico,
established various routes to Northern California, setting out
well-defined trails, and constructing numerous missions, many of which
stand today for the enjoyment of thousands of tourists and history
aficionados. One of these trails, the Anza Trail, passes in a
northwesterly direction from San Jacinto through the former community of
Edgemont, terminating at Alta, California.
One of the members of
Captain Anza's second expedition was Father Pedro Font. His diary
describes the beauty of the land that was to become Riverside County,
with its beautiful San Jacinto River, its fertile earth, and its
profusion of growing grass and cottonwoods. It was a description that
held for two centuries, and even now describes the overwhelming beauty
of an area blessed by prospering farms, benevolent weather, and dynamic
growth.
In 1996, March -- home to
the longest airstrip in Southern California -- was realigned as an Air
Reserve Base, and is today poised for great economic growth involving
public and private development.
The base greatly influenced
the growth of the valley. Sunnymead Boulevard was first paved in 1936,
and only a few homes dotted the communities of Sunnymead and Moreno.
Edgemont started its development in 1940. These three unincorporated
rural communities comprised the Moreno Valley, under the governance of
Riverside County.
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