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What are we going to call this piece of real estate we’ve just acquired? We sure won’t sell much land in a place called Mud Springs! So might the owners of the newly-formed San Jose Land Company have speculated. They had just taken over the land north and west of the old Mud Springs marsh and were busily building a Railroad Hotel and laying out a townsite to welcome the expected crowds of pioneers coming West. After giving it some thought, they decided to name their new town, San Dimas, since that was pleasant- sounding, and the name of the Canyon to the north. Every little town from South Pasadena to San Bernardino was building a Hotel in hopes that the Santa Fe would run its new railroad line through their town. Some were doomed to disappointment, as were Lordsburg and La Verne Heights. The La Verne Heights Hotel, which was built on N. Grand (now Damien), was soon moved down to Bonita and for years was the first building at the David and Margaret Home. The Lordsburg Hotel was a beautiful large building and served its area well until a disastrous fire destroyed it. Tracks were laid from San Bernardino westward, and from Los Angeles eastward, and in 1887, met just west of San Dimas. We are not sure of the spot, but it may have been on the great curve between San Dimas and Glendora. In 1987, the Centennial was commemorated by the Santa Fe Railroad, the City of San Dimas, and other Southern California towns on this route. A railroad excursion was held, starting at the beautiful Los Angeles station and ending in San Bernardino. Then the train came back to San Dimas, where we had a big celebration, complete with a band, speeches, and the symbolic driving of a golden spike, as well as a commemorative plaque placed on the Santa Fe Station itself. When the Railroad was completed in 1887 there was fierce competition between the Southern Pacific Railroad and the Santa Fe, |
to the point where the fare from the Midwest to Los Angeles dropped to just $1. As the prospective buyers came to San Dimas, they were sometimes taken up in the tower of the Hotel and shown from that distance the land they might buy. There is the tale of one buyer who descended from the tower and proceeded to his land, only to find someone already on the ground staking a claim. Promoters provided free tickets on excursion trains from Los Angeles, and free box lunches. There is also the story of 'Escrow Indians' who tied oranges on Joshua trees!
The Santa Fe opened its first 'Depot' in a railroad car on the San Dimas siding, with T. E. Gore as the first Station Agent. When the Land Boom collapsed in 1889, there was not enough traffic, so the new station was closed for several years. However, it was soon back in business and for many years, the various Citrus Packing Houses and the Citrus Nurseries provided many carloads of freight going out of San Dimas. The first station burned in 1933, catching fire from a burning packing house across the tracks. A new station was immediately built, although in a totally different style. This station closed finally in 1967, after the citrus industry declined and housing tracts replaced the groves. It is now occupied by the Museums of the Pacific Railroad Society and the San Dimas Historical Society. |
