Chino Hills

History

Prior to the colonization of the area by the Spanish Empire in the late 18th century, the Tongva village of Wapijanga (submerged by the building of the Prado Dam in 1941) was the major point of influence in what would later become Chino Hills. The village was an important point of connection between the Tongva and the Serrano. Another Tongva village, Pasinogna, was also located in present day Chino Hills After the Spanish founded Mission San Gabriel in 1771, the Chino Hills area was used as spillover grazing pasture by mission cattle and horses. In 1841, the area was part of a land concession given to Antonio Maria Lugo, and became known as Rancho Santa Ana del Chino. In 1846, the Battle of Chino, a notable battle of the Mexican-American War was fought on a battlefield in Chino Hills. After Mexico ceded California to the United States in 1848, the land continued to be used for cattle ranching. In 1848, the California gold rush began in Northern California. Meanwhile, in Southern California, cattle ranchers made fortunes in the beef trade, feeding the influx of migrants. In 1858, Chino Hills became one of the stagecoach stations of the Butterfield Overland Mail. In 1881, the land was sold to Richard Gird, a miner from Tombstone, Arizona, who had plans to develop the land. In 1893, after being impacted by economic depression, Gird was forced to sell the land to a group of real estate investors who developed the town of Chino, which was incorporated in 1910. Around this time, a resort was opened at La Vida Mineral Springs in Carbon Canyon, in the modern-day Sleepy Hollow region of the city. In 1925, the Los Serranos Country Club opened. The area became a destination for both tourists and bootleggers during the prohibition era because of its relative isolation. For the…

Geography

Chino Hills is a part of the Chino Valley. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , much of which is undeveloped rolling hills, including the Chino Hills State Park. of it is land and of it (0.15%) is water. Due to its topography of rolling hills, Chino Hills was primarily rural prior to the mid-1970s; most land was utilized for equestrian purposes and for dairies, except for the multi-use purposes of the State of California, promoting jobs for the community through day labor from the Chino Institute for Men on Central Avenue. Rapid and extensive housing developments followed throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, only slowing down in recent years. Most neighborhoods are arranged in a village-type format with strategically placed shopping centers and parks designed to be within walking distance of nearby homes. The Vellano Country Club, a private golf course and housing development, was designed by golf champion Greg Norman, his first project in the Greater Los Angeles area. Chino Hills also includes the developed golf course development neighborhood of Los Serranos. Other large master-planned subdivisions include Woodview/Village Crossing, Gordon Ranch, LaBand Village, Butterfield Ranch, Rolling Ridge, Fairfield Ranch, and Payne Ranch. The city of Chino Hills is bounded by the Los Angeles County cities of Pomona and Diamond Bar to the north and to the northwest, the Los Angeles County unincorporated area of South Diamond Bar to the west, the San Bernardino County city of Chino to the east, unincorporated Riverside County near Corona to the southeast, and the Orange County cities of Brea and Yorba Linda to the west and southwest, respectively, as well as an unincorporated area of Orange County between Brea and Yorba Linda and a…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  29,215
• Black Phoebe

  Sayornis nigricans (Swainson, 1827) · Aves
  26,414
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  24,393
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  22,987
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  22,786
• Lesser Goldfinch

  Spinus psaltria (Say, 1822) · Aves
  22,074
• California Towhee

  Melozone crissalis (Vigors, 1839) · Aves
  20,797
• Anna's Hummingbird

  Calypte anna (R.Lesson, 1829) · Aves
  19,655

Most recent

• M 2.82 — 2026-06-09
  7 km SE of Loma Linda, CA
• M 3.18 — 2026-06-09
  7 km SE of Loma Linda, CA
• M 2.54 — 2026-06-03
  1 km E of San Jacinto, CA
• M 2.93 — 2026-05-26
  8 km S of Malibu Beach, CA
• M 2.66 — 2026-05-19
  4 km W of Manhattan Beach, CA
• M 3.29 — 2026-05-09
  1 km SE of Muscoy, CA