The Mormons (1851-1857) A Mormon contingent of 500 settled in San Bernardino three years before the city was officially incorporated. At that time the city officially incorporated, Mormons comprised 75% of San Bernardino's population. In 1857, Brigham Young called approximately sixty percent of the Mormons back to Utah.

Gold! (1860s) In 1860 William F. Holcomb filed five gold claims in an area now known as Holcomb Valley, resulting in a major gold rush. Holcomb Valley was one of the largest gold findings in Southern California. Miners poured into the mountains through San Bernardino in search of their fortunes. For a time, Belleville, a mining town in Holcomb Valley, was the largest city in Southern California with 10,000 residents. To this day the main gold “vein” has yet to be discovered. The Valley remains much the same today and gold is still found by “weekend miners” who make the trek with their pans and equipment.