Ontario California
Ontario is a large city that is a part of San Bernardino County in the California Inland Empire. It has residents of around 170,000 on a land mass of 50 square miles. It has had many nicknames since it’s founding in the 1880’s and is currently known as ‘The Gateway to Southern California’ mainly because it is home to the Ontario International Airport and it’s convenient location close to the 10 and 15 interstates.

Ontario was originally a desert until two Canadian Brothers – William and George Chaffey – had a vision to create a model agricultural colony. They named it after their home province in Canada. They undertook a large scale irrigation project and encourage the Southern Pacific railroad to extend its tracks and soon the colony was a thriving community. Citrus was a successful crop along with other fruits such as peaches, winery’s were established and olives and walnuts were also grown.

The twentieth century brought industrialization to the area, beginning with the Sunkist plant, built in 1926 that processed much of Southern California’s citrus crop and became a leading research center for processing fruits. Ontario is the birthplace of the electric iron and many other electrically powered household goods, this led to a boom in manufacturing when, through the mergers of Hotpoint and General Electric a large scale industry was created. A need for residential housing soon followed. Aviation and the defense industry during the second World War also significantly contributed to Ontario’s population growth.

Today Ontario still has a manufacturing base and the state of the art facilities at the Ontario Convention Center attracts many visitors as does Ontario Mills, the largest single story outlet mall and entertainment center in the USA.

Ontario boasts over 350,000 acres of recreational spaces and park lands as well as the largest sports arena located in the Inland Empire, the Citizens Business Bank Arena. Attractions also include the Scandia Amusement Park, the Ontario Improv (a restaurant and Comedy showcase), The Museum of History and Art and the famous California Speedway.

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