Business View Civil and Municipal | January 2021

125 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL JANUARY 2021 COLTON, CAL I FORNI A Southern Pacific moved into San Bernardino intending to cross ATSF in Colton. ATSF had, at the time, what they call in railroad language a frog intersection, where a train heading in one direction would have to wait for trains heading in another to clear the junction before it could cross.” First built in 1883, Colton Crossing was the site of one of the most intense conflicts in railroad construction history. It even led to an altercation between Virgil Earp and then-California Governor, Robert Waterman. “Virgil’s brother, Morgan, is buried here in Hermosa Cemetery,” says Navarro. “Their father was Colton’s first city clerk and justice of the peace. The entire Earp clan lived here for quite some time.” A STRATEGIC CITY Strategically located in the heart of the Inland Empire – a metropolitan region defined as the cities of western Riverside county and southwestern San Bernardino – the City of Colton today encompasses approximately 18 square miles of fertile valley nestled against the scenic San Gorgonio Mountains. Originally, the city consisted of just 200 acres along the Santa Ana riverbank in a settlement called La Placita. Mexican labor came in to help build the railroads and established long- lasting, multigenerational communities in this area where small, quaint homes were built by the rail workers. The then-town of Colton continued to grow and prosper, the Chicano barrio in its south side also grew, through natural increase and continued migration from the east and south. “Our population is currently 54,000 and the demographic is about 72% Hispanic,” says Navarro. “We’re not an affluent community, we’re mainly a blue-collar community, with our share of higher incomes as well. A lot of hardworking people.” Named after David R. Colton, a Southern Pacific Railroad official, the City of Colton also happens to lie at the intersection of two major freeways, the I-215 and the I-10, as well as the intersection of railways, making it a hub city par excellence. “Because of our strategic location, logistics found us,” shares Christy Elshof, Economic Development Project Manager II. The City