Colton

History

Before Spanish settlement, the area was inhabited by the Tongva, Serrano, and Cahuilla. The Tongva village of Homhoangna was located in the area that is now Colton, situated near the base of the foothills of Reche Canyon, historically known as Homhoa Canyon, derived from the Tongva language word homhoabit or "hilly place." By 1840, Colton was part of two private ranchos, Rancho Jurupa and Rancho San Bernardino. He was later the vice president of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company. Colton was created in its modern form when the Southern Pacific Railway was built heading east from Los Angeles in 1875. where he was the town's first marshal. He resided in Colton from 1883 to 1889. Morgan Earp is buried at Hermosa Cemetery. In 1953, a significant portion of the historic downtown of Colton was bulldozed to make room for the Ramona Freeway, which would later be named the San Bernardino Freeway. This included the block on the west side of Eighth Street north of J, including the then 70-year-old Helman's Department Store building, originally housing the First National Bank of Colton, on the corner and the Willet's Department Store building to its north. Both stores moved to locations further north on Eighth.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of . of it is land and of it (3.18%) is water. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Colton has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  19,584
• Lesser Goldfinch

  Spinus psaltria (Say, 1822) · Aves
  15,658
• California Towhee

  Melozone crissalis (Vigors, 1839) · Aves
  14,243
• Anna's Hummingbird

  Calypte anna (R.Lesson, 1829) · Aves
  13,882
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  13,477
• Black Phoebe

  Sayornis nigricans (Swainson, 1827) · Aves
  12,835
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  11,928
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  11,572

Largest nearby schools

• Sage Oak Charter
  Other · Redlands · 3,048 students · 21.3:1 ratio
• Rialto High
  High · Rialto · 2,886 students · 24.5:1 ratio
• Arroyo Valley High
  High · San Bernardino · 2,785 students · 24.2:1 ratio
• Cajon High
  High · San Bernardino · 2,750 students · 24.8:1 ratio
• Fontana High
  High · Fontana · 2,459 students · 19.7:1 ratio
• Redlands Senior High
  High · Redlands · 2,232 students · 21.7:1 ratio
• Wilmer Amina Carter High
  High · Rialto · 2,212 students · 23.8:1 ratio
• Eisenhower High
  High · Rialto · 2,207 students · 22.1:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.77 — 2026-10-15
  3 km NNW of San Jacinto, CA
• M 2.71 — 2026-10-11
  4 km E of San Jacinto, CA
• M 3.16 — 2026-10-09
  2 km SW of Signal Hill, CA
• M 2.7 — 2026-10-08
  2 km WNW of Fontana, CA
• M 2.6 — 2026-10-06
  4 km NNW of Big Bear City, CA
• M 2.63 — 2026-09-23
  9 km WNW of Anza, CA