Hesperia

History

The first inhabitants of the area were the Serrano people (Yuhaaviatam), and possibly their Desert Serrano Vanyume subgroup. . The village of Wá’peat, among several other villages that were located along the Mojave River, were within the vicinity of what is now Hesperia. These villages were occupied into the early 1800s and had deep ties with one another. An acorn-gathering festival was held at Wá’peat that involved villagers from across the Mojave River area. Hesperia began as a Spanish land grant: Rancho San Felipe, Las Flores, y el Paso del Cajon, founded in 1781. The land was sparsely inhabited desert during Spanish-Mexican rule in the 19th century. The U.S. annexed the region along with Southern California after the Mexican-American War in 1848. In 1869, Max Stobel purchased from the United States Government Land Office for $40,000. While several attempts were made to subdivide and encourage colonization, the land was primarily used for agricultural purposes, with raisin grapes the primary product. Hesperia grew relatively slowly until the completion of US Routes 66, 91, and 395 in the 1940s, followed by Interstate 15 in the late 1960s. About of land were laid out for possible residential development. In the early 1950s, land developer M. Penn Phillips and his silent financial partner, boxer Jack Dempsey, financed the building of roads and land subdivisions, promoting lots sales on television. They built the Hesperia Inn and golf course, which attracted a variety of Hollywood celebrities. The Hesperia Inn also housed the Jack Dempsey Museum. The main wave of newcomers, though, arrived at Hesperia in the 1980s. Suburban growth transformed the small town of 5,000 people in 1970 to a moderate-sized city with a population over 60,000 by 2000, and a population…

Geography

Hesperia is a city in the Mojave Desert, and the California Aqueduct traverses the area. Much of the native flora of Hesperia is classified as California desert vegetation, dominated by junipers, joshua trees, and sagebrush. The elevation rises from in the north to about above sea level to the south. The San Andreas Fault, a major tectonic plate boundary of the Pacific and North American plates a few miles south of Hesperia in the Cajon Pass, has occasional seismic activity. Hesperia is located at above sea level and is a neighbor of Victorville, Oak Hills, and Apple Valley. The Mojave River flows northerly through the east side of the city, while the California Aqueduct splits the city from north to south en route to Silverwood Lake. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , with of land and (0.13%) covered by water. The rain shadow caused by the mountain ranges to the south and west shields Hesperia from the majority of winter rainfall, but heavy rain is not uncommon. The city officially receives a yearly average of of precipitation. Winter snowfall is sporadic - the average yearly snowfall amount is . The large diurnal temperature variation, though, provides substantial relief overnight. In the later part of the season, sporadic summer thunderstorms associated with the North American monsoon can bring power outages and local flash floods.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,284
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  3,390
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,377
• Mountain Chickadee

  Poecile gambeli (Ridgway, 1886) · Aves
  2,346
• Anna's Hummingbird

  Calypte anna (R.Lesson, 1829) · Aves
  2,229
• American Coot

  Fulica americana Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  2,225
• Western Bluebird

  Sialia mexicana Swainson, 1832 · Aves
  2,066
• Northern Flicker

  Colaptes auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,035

Largest nearby schools

• Oak Hills High
  High · Oak Hills · 2,492 students · 23.7:1 ratio
• Hesperia High
  High · Hesperia · 2,275 students · 23:1 ratio
• Apple Valley High
  High · Apple Valley · 2,206 students · 24.2:1 ratio
• Excelsior Charter
  High · Victorville · 2,180 students · 26:1 ratio
• Silverado High
  High · Victorville · 2,175 students · 23.1:1 ratio
• Sultana High
  High · Hesperia · 2,169 students · 24.4:1 ratio
• Victor Valley High
  High · Victorville · 2,045 students · 25.9:1 ratio
• Alta Vista Innovation High
  High · Hesperia · 2,023 students · 26.6:1 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 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 2.62 — 2026-09-11
  6 km W of Edwards Air Force Base, CA
• M 2.67 — 2026-09-08
  39 km NE of Big Bear City, CA