San Dimas

The Santa Fe Railroad laid tracks from the east and the west beneath the southern slopes of the San Gabriel Mountains in 1887, meeting in San Dimas and opening the area to more than sparse settlement. The Rancho San Jose formerly included San Dimas in a Spanish land grant of 23,000 acres, given in 1837 to Don Ygnacio Palomares and Don Ricardo Vejar by the king of Spain. The new town became integral to the huge citrus industry that stretched for 65 miles from Pasadena to the Inland Empire. Residential development renewed growth in the 1950s, yet much of today's designated historic portion of this eastern Los Angeles County community remains the same as it was in the early 1900s. Part of the Lemon Association packinghouse still stands, once the largest such packinghouse in the world. San Dimas is a vital city thriving in the midst of Southern California's rush through the 21st century but is also rich in the historical building blocks that created prosperity in the greater Los Angeles region.

Paul Rippens is the archivist for the San Dimas Historical Society, which has worked diligently to digitize photographs and protect notable documents, ensuring these touchstones of the past will remain to enlighten future generations.