Rancho Cucamonga

This week the General Land Office is taking you to Rancho Cucamonga, California, located in San Bernardino County about 40 miles east of Los Angeles. Rancho Cucamonga was originally inhabited by the Tongva Indians and later explored during a Spanish expedition led by Gaspar de Portolá in 1769. The town was named based on the Indian word kukamonga, meaning "sandy place." In 1839, the Mexican governor at the time, Juan Bautista Alvarado, gave the land to Tiburcio Tapia through a Mexican land grant. Tiburcio Tapia was known for many things, but most notably, he was a Mexican soldier who went on to become a wealthy Los Angeles merchant, ranch owner, and winery owner.

Above is a survey plat approved Sept. 18, 1858, by Surveyor General, James W. Mandeville, which depicts Rancho Cucamonga. Since the land grant was established almost 20 years before this township was surveyed, the surveyors incorporated the boundary of the land grant as a lot.

Rancho Cucamonga was located right along the Old Spanish Trail, which is now a National Historic Trail that is managed by the National Park Service. The trail, spanning over 2,500 miles, was used starting in the early 1800s to bring textiles from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Los Angeles, California to trade for mules and horses.

Did you know that Rancho Cucamonga is home to California's oldest commercial wine facility? Upon receiving the land grant, Tiburcio Tapia planted a small vineyard and built a winery. In 1859, Jon Rains expanded the vineyard to include 125,000 grapevines. In January 1969, the winery was flooded. After great expense, the winery was rebuilt and business resumed a couple years later, but in the mid-1980s, the vineyard was sold to a retail developer, and the winery was closed.

Not only is Rancho Cucamonga home to the oldest commercial wine facility, but it is also home to, get this, Flamin' Hot Cheetos! Richard Monteañez, a janitor at Frito-Lay's factory, pitched the idea of coating plain Cheetos with chili to company executives, and now we have Flamin' Hot Cheetos for everyone!