Moreno Valley, CA news and local guide

After California became a state in 1850, Americans moved in, and John Butterfield's Overland Mail route from Tucson to San Francisco passed through. Farmers relied on water from Frank E. Brown's Bear Valley Land and Water Company, which from 1883 pumped water from Bear Valley in the San Bernardino Mountains. The valley got its name then, from moreno, Spanish for "brown," after Frank Brown. In 1899 the city of Redlands won a lawsuit claiming the Bear Valley water, and the loss of water forced most residents to leave. The area grew from 18,871 people in 1970 to 49,702 in 1984, as California's economic boom brought new houses and businesses. Incorporation measures had failed in 1968 and 1983, but voters approved one in 1984, and on December 3, 1984, Edgemont, Sunnymead and Moreno joined to form the city of Moreno Valley, with Marshall C. Scott as its first mayor. Sources Wikipedia: Moreno Valley, California