Adelanto, California

Adelanto, C A L I F O R N I A THE LOGIC OF MOVING FORWARD T he City of Adelanto, California is located in the Victor Valley of the south-central Mojave Desert in the County of San Bernardino. It was originally founded in 1915, by E. H. Richardson, the inventor of what became the Hotpoint electric iron, after he sold his patent and purchased some land for $75,000, hoping to develop one of the first planned communities in Southern California. The name Adelanto means “progress” or “advance” in Spanish, and was first given to the post office that was established on the site in 1917. Richardson subdivided his land into one-acre plots, which he planned to sell to veterans with respiratory ailments suffered during World War I. He also hoped to build a respiratory hospital for them. Although Richardson never fully realized his dream, his planning laid the foundation for the present day City of Adelanto. For many years, the area’s main product was fruit and cider. The orchards thrived until the Great Depression, when they were replaced by poultry ranches. In 1941, the Victorville Army Air Field was established nearby, renamed the George Air Force Base in honor of the late Brigadier General Harold H. George, in 1950. Adelanto incorporated in 1970 as San Bernardino County’s smallest city, and became a charter city in November 1992, the same year that the Air Force based was closed and became the Southern California Logistics Airport, designed for business,