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San Bernardino County is a county in the U.S.
state of California. As of the 2000 census, the population
was 1,709,434. As of 2009, the population was estimated by the California Department of
Finance to have grown to 2,060,950.[3] San Bernardino County is the largest county in the continental United
States by area (Alaska has four larger county equivalents), and is
larger in area than each of the nine smallest
states.
Located in the southeast of the state of California,
the thinly populated deserts and mountains of this vast county stretch
from the outskirts of the densely populated Riverside-San
Bernardino Area to the Nevada border and the Colorado River.
The county seat is San Bernardino. The county is
considered to be part of the Inland Empire region and is also
the only county in California bordered by both Nevada and
Arizona,
and is one of only two counties in California bordering more than one
US state (the other being Modoc County, bordering Nevada and Oregon in
the northeast corner of the state).
History
Father Francisco Dumetz named San Bernardino on
May 20, 1810, feast day of St. Bernardino of Siena.
San Bernardino County was formed from parts of Los Angeles County in 1853.
Parts of the county's territory were given to Riverside County in 1893.
The Franciscans gave the
name San Bernardino to the snowcapped peak in Southern California, in honor of the saint and it is
from him that the county derives its name.[2] Geography
The Arrowhead natural feature is the source of many local names and
icons, such as Lake Arrowhead and the County of
San Bernardino's seal.
The Mojave
National Preserve covers some of the eastern desert, especially
between Interstate 15 and Interstate 40.
The desert portion also includes the cities of Needles next to the Colorado River,
and Barstow at the junction in Interstate 15 and Interstate 40.
Trona is at the northwestern part of the county west of Death Valley. This famous
national park, mostly within Inyo County, also has a small portion of land
within the county. The largest metropolitan area in the Mojave
Desert part of the county is the Victor Valley with the incorporated localities of Apple Valley, Victorville, Adelanto, and Hesperia. Further south, a portion of Joshua Tree National Park overlaps
the county near Twentynine Palms. Additional
places near and west of Twentynine palms include Yucca Valley, Joshua Tree, and Morongo Valley. The mountains are home
to the San Bernardino National Forest,
and include the communities of Crestline, Lake Arrowhead, Running Springs, Big Bear City, Forest Falls, and Big Bear Lake.
The San Bernardino Valley is at the
eastern end of the San Gabriel Valley. The San Bernardino Valley
includes the cities of Ontario, Chino, Chino Hills, Upland, Fontana, Rialto, Colton, Grand Terrace, Rancho Cucamonga, San Bernardino, Loma Linda, Highland, Redlands, and Yucaipa.
The Inland Empire area of Southern
California is made up of the San Bernardino County and Riverside county.
At just over 20,000 square miles, San Bernardino County is just
slightly larger than the states of Maryland, Delaware, Rhode Island, and
Massachusetts combined. Incorporated
communities
San Bernardino County Cities |
Year Incorporated |
Population, 2007[4] |
Median Income, 2006[4] |
| Adelanto |
1970 |
27,139 |
$41,444 |
| Apple Valley |
1988 |
70,297 |
$46,751 |
| Barstow |
1947 |
23,943 |
$44,737 |
| Big Bear Lake |
1981 |
6,207 |
$43,983 |
| Chino |
1910 |
81,224 |
$70,994 |
| Chino Hills |
1991 |
78,668 |
$78,394 |
| Colton |
1887 |
51,797 |
$45,911 |
| Fontana |
1952 |
181,640 |
$60,722 |
| Grand Terrace |
1978 |
12,380 |
$69,806 |
| Hesperia |
1988 |
85,876 |
$43,018 |
| Highland |
1987 |
52,186 |
$53,917 |
| Loma Linda |
1970 |
22,451 |
$49,211 |
| Montclair |
1956 |
36,622 |
$52,768 |
| Needles |
1913 |
5,759 |
$35,338 |
| Ontario |
1891 |
172,701 |
$56,688 |
| Rancho Cucamonga |
1977 |
174,308 |
$75,429 |
| Redlands |
1888 |
71,375 |
$63,463 |
| Rialto |
1911 |
99,064 |
$45,759 |
| San Bernardino |
1854 |
205,010 |
$36,676 |
| Twentynine Palms |
1987 |
24,830 |
$36,471 |
| Upland |
1906 |
75,169 |
$64,894 |
| Victorville |
1962 |
102,538 |
$50,531 |
| Yucaipa |
1989 |
51,784 |
$50,529 |
| Yucca Valley |
1991 |
21,044 |
$38,092 |
Unincorporated
communities
Adjacent counties
Counties adjacent to San Bernardino County, California
San Bernardino County, California, is one of the few counties in the
United States to border as
many as eight counties. National protected
areas
Transportation
infrastructure Major highways
Public transportation
- Barstow Area Transit serves Barstow and
the surrounding county area.
- Morongo Basin Transit Authority provides bus service in Yucca Valley, Joshua Tree and Twentynine Palms
(including the Marine base). Limited service is also provided to Palm
Springs.
- Mountain Area Regional
Transit Authority (MARTA) covers the Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear
regions. Limited service is also provided to Downtown San Bernardino.
- Needles Area Transit serves Needles and
the surrounding county area.
- Omnitrans provides transit service in the urbanized portion of San Bernardino
County, serving the City of San Bernardino, as well as the area between
Montclair and Yucaipa.
- Victor Valley Transit Authority operates buses in Victorville, Hesperia, Adelanto, Apple Valley and the
surrounding county area.
- Foothill Transit connects the Inland Empire
area to the San Gabriel Valley and downtown Los Angeles.
- OCTA connects Chino
to Irvine and Brea.
- RTA connects Montclair to Riverside
County.
- San Bernardino County is also served by Greyhound buses and Amtrak
trains. Metrolink commuter trains
connect the urbanized portion of the county with Los Angeles, Orange,
and Riverside Counties.
Airports
Colleges and
universities
Libraries
San Bernardino County is home to the San Bernardino County Library
system, which consists of 34 branches within the county as well as
branches in Victorville, Riverside County, Murrieta, Moreno Valley, and
College of the Desert.[6] Various branch libraries offer services such as free internet access,
live 24/7 reference services, vital records, LITE (Literacy,
Information, Technology, and Education) Centers for children, and
literacy programs. [7]
City based public libraries are also common within San Bernardino
County, arguably the most notable being the A.K. Smiley Public Library
in Redlands, California, which was built
in 1898.[8] Other public libraries within San Bernardino County include: San
Bernardino City Public Library, Rancho Cucamonga Public Library, Upland
Public Library, Montclair Public Library, Colton City Library, Apple
Valley Public Library, and the Ontario City Library.[9] Politics
Presidential election results
| Year |
GOP |
DEM |
Others |
| 2008 |
45.9% 277,408 |
52.2% 315,720 |
1.9% 12,281 |
| 2004 |
55.3% 289,306 |
43.6% 227,789 |
1.1% 5,682 |
| 2000 |
48.8% 221,757 |
47.2% 214,749 |
4.0% 18,387 |
| 1996 |
43.6% 180,135 |
44.4% 183,372 |
12.0% 49,848 |
| 1992 |
37.2% 176,563 |
38.7% 183,634 |
24.0% 113,873 |
| 1988 |
60.0% 235,167 |
38.5% 151,118 |
1.5% 5,723 |
| 1984 |
64.8% 222,071 |
34.0% 116,454 |
1.2% 4,180 |
| 1980 |
59.7% 172,957 |
31.7% 91,790 |
8.6% 25,065 |
| 1976 |
49.5% 113,265 |
47.9% 109,636 |
2.6% 5,984 |
| 1972 |
59.7% 144,689 |
35.5% 85,986 |
4.8% 11,581 |
| 1968 |
50.1% 111,974 |
40.0% 89,418 |
9.9% 22,224 |
| 1964 |
42.8% 92,145 |
57.1% 123,012 |
0.1% 243 |
| 1960 |
52.0% 99,481 |
47.5% 90,888 |
0.5% 944 |
San Bernardino County is a politically competitive county, in which
candidates from both major political parties have managed to win in
recent elections. The Democratic Party carried the county in 2008 (when Barack
Obama won a majority of its votes), as well as in 1992 and 1996, when Bill
Clinton won pluralities. Meanwhile, Republican George W. Bush won the county in 2000 (also on a
plurality) and 2004. The county
is split between heavily Latino and Democratic areas and more
conservative areas. For example, the heavily Latino cities of Ontario
and San Bernardino went for John Kerry in 2004. However, these cities
had a relatively low voter turnout. In 2006, San Bernardino's population
exceeded 201,000, and in 2004, a mere 42,520 votes were cast in the
city; in 2006, strongly Republican Rancho Cucamonga had over 145,000
people, of whom 53,054 voted.
In the House of Representatives,
all of California's 43rd
congressional district and parts of the 25th, 26th, 41st, and 42nd districts are
in the county. Except for the 43rd, which is held by Democrat Joe Baca,
every district is held by Republicans: Buck
McKeon, David Dreier, Jerry Lewis,
and Gary Miller respectively.
In the State Assembly, tiny parts of the
32nd and 34th districts, parts of the 36th, 59th, 60th, 61st, 63rd, and
65th districts, and all of the 62nd district are in the county. Except
for the 61st and 62nd districts, which are represented by Democrats Norma
Torres and Wilmer Carter respectively, every district is
represented by a Republican: Jean
Fuller (AD-32), Bill Maze (AD-34), Sharon
Runner (AD-36), Anthony Adams (AD-59), Curt
Hagman (AD-60), Bill
Emmerson (AD-63), and Paul Cook (AD-65).
In the State Senate, parts of the 17th,
18th, 29th, 31st, and 32nd districts are in the county, and are held by
Republicans George Runner, Roy
Ashburn, Bob Huff, and Bob Dutton,
and Democrat Gloria Negrete McLeod respectively.
On Nov. 4, 2008 San Bernardino County voted 67.0 % for Proposition 8
which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages.
According to the California Secretary of State, as of May, 2009,
there are 806,589 registered voters in San Bernardino County. Of those,
324,857 (40.28%) are registered Democrats, 306,203 (37.96%) are
registered Republicans,with the remainder belonging to minor political
parties or declining to state.[10] Demographics
| Historical populations |
| Census |
Pop. |
|
%± |
| 1900 |
27,929 |
|
? |
| 1910 |
56,706 |
|
103.0% |
| 1920 |
73,401 |
|
29.4% |
| 1930 |
133,900 |
|
82.4% |
| 1940 |
161,108 |
|
20.3% |
| 1950 |
281,642 |
|
74.8% |
| 1960 |
503,591 |
|
78.8% |
| 1970 |
684,072 |
|
35.8% |
| 1980 |
895,016 |
|
30.8% |
| 1990 |
1,418,380 |
|
58.5% |
| 2000 |
1,709,434 |
|
20.5% |
| Est. 2007 |
2,007,800 |
|
17.5% |
As of the census[11] of 2000, there were 1,709,434 people, 528,594 households, and 404,374
families residing in the county. The population density was 85 people per square mile (33/km²).
There were 601,369 housing units at an average density of 30 per
square mile (12/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 58.91% White, 9.09% African
American, 1.17% Native
American, 4.69% Asian, 0.30% Pacific
Islander, 20.82% from other races,
and 5.03% from two or more races. 39.16% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
8.3% were of German, 5.5% English and 5.1% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000. 66.1% spoke English, 27.7% Spanish and 1.1% Tagalog as their first language.
There were 528,594 households out of which 43.70% had children under
the age of 18 living with them, 55.80% were married couples living
together, 14.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and
23.50% were non-families. 18.40% of all households were made up of
individuals and 6.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age
or older. The average household size was 3.15 and the average family
size was 3.58.
The number of homeless in San Bernardino County grew from 5,270 in
2002 to 7,331 in 2007, a 39% increase.[12]
In the county the population was spread out with 32.30% under the age
of 18, 10.30% from 18 to 24, 30.20% from 25 to 44, 18.70% from 45 to
64, and 8.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30
years. For every 100 females there were 99.60 males. For every 100
females age 18 and over, there were 97.20 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $42,066, and the
median income for a family was $46,574. Males had a median income of
$37,025 versus $27,993 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,856. About 12.60%
of families and 15.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.60% of those under
age 18 and 8.40% of those age 65 or over. Racial mix
- White Non-Hispanic (44.0%)
- Hispanic (39.2%)
- Other race (20.8%)
- Black (9.1%)
- Two or more races (5.0%)
- American Indian (2.2%)
- Filipino (1.5%)
- Chinese (0.7%)
- Other Asian (0.7%)
- Vietnamese (0.6%)
The total can be greater than 100% because Hispanics could be counted
in other races.[13] Public safety Law enforcement
SBC Sheriff's department operates a sizable fleet of helicopters. Shown
here are a Bell 212 (foreground) and a Sikorsky
S-61 at the air unit's Rialto headquarters.
The county's primary law enforcement agency is the San Bernardino
County Sheriff's Department. The department provides law enforcement
services in the unincorporated areas of the county as well as 14
contract cities, operates the county jail system, provides marshal
services in the county superior courts, and has numerous other divisions
to serve the residents of the county.
Sergeant Phil Brown of the San Bernardino
County Sheriff's Department said the gangs are growing more violent
in the farthest reaches of the county, including the High Desert. Racial tensions among
the Chicano gangs and the African-American gangs have heightened
dramatically in the Inland Empire, causing even the most rural areas to
be affected. "It's getting out in more remote areas," Brown said. "They
go gang against gang. There's more gang violence to the general public
and its becoming more random..." [1]
Fire Rescue
The county also operates the San Bernardino County Consolidated Fire
District (commonly known as the San Bernardino County Fire Department).
The department provides "all-risk" fire, rescue, and emergency medical
services to all unincorporated areas, except for several areas served by
independent fire protection districts, within the county as well as
several cities which have chosen to contract with the department. Environmental quality
California Attorney General Jerry
Brown sued the county in April 2007 under the state's environmental quality act for failing to account for the impact of global warming in the county's 25-year growth plan,
approved in March. The Center for Biological Diversity,
Sierra
Club and the Audubon Society also
sued in a separate case. According to Brendan Cummings, a senior
attorney for the plaintiffs: "San Bernardino has never seen a
project it didn't like. They rubber-stamp development. It's very much of
a frontier mentality." The plaintiffs want the county to rewrite its
growth plan's environmental impact statement to include methods to measure greenhouse gases and take steps to reduce
them.[15]
According to county spokesman David Wert, only 15% of the county is
actually controlled by the county; the rest is cities and federal and
state land. However, the county says it will make sure employment
centers and housing are near transportation corridors to reduce traffic
and do more to promote compact development and mass transit. The county
budgeted $325,000 to fight the lawsuit.[15]
The state and the county reached a settlement in August 2007.[16] The county agreed to amend its general plan to include a Greenhouse Gas
Emissions Reduction Plan, including an emissions inventory and
reduction targets. Places of interest
Notable people
Including current residents, as well as former residents who have
made their mark in history:
- Earl W. Bascom, inventor, rodeo champion, California Rodeo
Hall of Fame inductee, actor, artist/sculptor, "Father of Modern-day
Rodeo." Lived in Ontario and the Victor Valley.
- Glen
Bell, founder of Taco Bell
- Susan Easton Black, author
- Frank Bogert, raised in Wrightwood, rodeo announcer, mayor
of Palm Springs 1958?1966.
- Ron
Carter, author
- Ronnie Lott, Hall of Fame football player, grew up in Rialto.
- Landon Donovan, professional soccer player for the U.S.
National Team and the Major League Soccer Los Angeles Galaxy.
- Ricky D?minguez, Actor
- James
Earp, one of the "Fighting Earps" of Dodge City, and Tombstone
fame. Buried in Mountain View Cemetery, San Bernardino
- Morgan Earp, US Marshal killed in Tombstone, Arizona, and
buried in Hermosa Gardens Cemetery, Colton, California, one of the
"Fighting Earps" of Tombstone fame.
- Nicholas Porter Earp, Justice of the
Peace, coroner, judge, preacher, saloon owner, gambler, father of the
"Fighting Earps".
- Virgil Earp, one of the "Fighting Earps" of Dodge City, and
Tombstone fame. US Marshal, Arizona Territory. Lived in Colton, California.
- Wyatt
Earp, one of the "Fighting Earps" of Dodge City, and Tombstone
fame. Lived in San Timoteo Canyon, Colton and Vidal. The town of Earp, California is named in his honor, as he owned a
gold mine in the nearby Whipple Mountains.
- Tennessee Ernie Ford, radio announcer,
country and gospel music singer, television show host. Lived in
Victorville, Oro Grande and San Bernardino.
- Cuba Gooding, Jr., Academy Award?winning actor. Lived
in Apple Valley.
- Gene Hackman, Hollywood actor and Academy Award winner. He
was born in San Bernardino.
- Jefferson Hunt, U.S. Army - Mormon Battalion
officer, western pioneer, State Legislator, "Father of San Bernardino
County", Brigadier General of California Militia.
- Will
James, artist, illustrator, author. Lived in Apple Valley.
- Eric Koston, professional skateboarder - born in Bangkok, Thailand but grew up in San Bernardino, California
- Eddie Lawson, four-time world champion Grand Prix motorcycle racer.
- John Walker Lindh, the so-called "American Taliban"
fighter now incarcerated in ADX
Florence.
- Amasa Lyman, first mayor of San Bernardino City, Mormon
Apostle
- Biddy Mason, former slave, a nurse and midwife who became the
wealthiest woman in California in her day, helped found the AME Church.
She lived in San Bernardino, coming there with the Mormon colonists.
- Dick and Mac McDonald,
the fast food pioneering brothers of what became McDonald's Corporation
- Melina Perez, professional wrestler
- Jim
Pike, singer with The
Lettermen, Reunion
- Tim
Powers, fantasy author
- Roy
Rogers and Dale Evans, western actors, rodeo producer. Lived
in Apple Valley.
- Spike (Peanuts), the
fictional canine resident from the Needles area
- Randy Rhoads, guitar prodigy who played with Ozzy
Osbourne's Blizzard of Oz, is laid to rest in Mountain View
Cemetery
- Bobby Sherman, actor
- Charles C. Rich, one of the founders of San
Bernardino, Mormon Apostle.
- Cleon Skousen, FBI agent, Chief of Police, lawyer, author,
world lecturer. Lived in San Bernardino.
- Joseph F. Smith, religious leader, became the sixth
President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon).
Lived and worked in Mormon Springs (now Crestline) in the 1850s.
- John Charles Thomas, baritone opera
singer on Broadway. Lived in Apple Valley.
- Three
Bars, stud thoroughbred horse, Hall of Fame foundation sire of
American Quarter Horse. Lived in Apple Valley.
- Darren Collison, NBA rookie drafted by the New Orleans
Hornets grew up in Rancho Cucamonga, attended Etiwanda High School and
received a scholarship to play at UCLA.
- New
Boyz, Rap Duo
See also
[edit] References
- ^ "San Bernardino, California
Tourism". PlanetWare. http://www.planetware.com/california/san-bernardino-us-ca-sbd.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
- ^ a b Van de Grift Sanchez, Nellie (1914). Spanish and Indian place names
of California: their meaning and their romance. p. 74. http://books.google.com/books?id=gKgYAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA74#v=onepage&q=&f=false. Retrieved 2009-09-17.
- ^ State of California, Department of
Finance, E-1 population Estimates for Cities, Counties and the State
with Annual Percent Change ? January 1, 2008 and 2009. Sacramento,
California, May 2009.
- ^ a b Husing, John (October 2007). "Inland Empire City Profile 2007" (PDF). Inland Empire Quarterly Economic Report (Redlands: Economics & Politics,
Inc) 19 (4). http://www.johnhusing.com/QER%20Oct%202007%20web.pdf. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
- ^ Site L26, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_airports_in_California
- ^ San Bernardino County Library
catalog
- ^ San Bernardino County Library
website
- ^ A.K. Smiley Public Library history
- ^ Public libraries in San Bernardino County, CA
- ^ http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ror/ror-pages/15day-stwdsp-09/county.pdf
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ Quan, Douglas (2007-09-25). "S.B. County steps up fight
against homelessness". Press
Enterprise. http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_D_homeless26.3830aad.html. Retrieved 2007-12-24.
- ^ Source of all statistical figures in this section: "City-data /
San_Bernardino_County-CA". analyzed data from numerous sources. http://www.city-data.com/county/San_Bernardino_County-CA.html. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ "reported by the sheriff's office".
City-data-county-San_Bernardino_County-CA.
http://www.city-data.com/county/San_Bernardino_County-CA.html. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
- ^ a b Ritter, John (June 5, 2007). "Inland Empire's 25-year growth
targeted". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/globalwarming/2007-06-05-warming-inside_N.htm. Retrieved 2007-11-10.
- ^ Office of the Attorney General, State of California, Brown Announces Landmark Global Warming Settlement,
August 21, 2007.
External links
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Coordinates: 34°50′N 116°11′W / 34.83°N 116.19°W / 34.83; -116.19
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