Springbrook Heritage Alliance

Here is a map of Cajon Pass from the old days, showing Horsethief Canyon & other landmarks. The Old Spanish Trail ran through there. Eventually, it connects with Riverside's oldest neighborhood via the Santa Ana River at La Loma Hills.

The Santa Ana River and La Loma Hills are connected to the Old Spanish Trail...and here is a tradition that comes with the trailhead.

URGENT CALL TO ACTION--HELP SAVE THE NORTHSIDE!

Habitation sites and faults along Mojave River Trail segment of Old Spanish Trail. (roughly-JSG)

UPDATE 11-14-2020: URGENT CALL TO ACTION RIVERSIDE CITY COUNCIL VIRTUAL HEARING ON THE NORTHSIDE SPECIFIC PLAN & PEIR Tuesday, Nov. 17 at 6:15 p.m.: Related changes to the General Plan...Continue reading

Here's a bit of history of the Old Spanish Trail which connects to the old neighborhood we are trying to save from being destroyed by warehouses... The Trujillo Adobe area at La Loma Hills connects to the Santa Ana River, and a branch of the Old Spanish Trail runs along the other side of the river. This scene shows the house where Gravel Gertie once lived with her husband a long time ago...

We hope to see you there!

Riverside's Northside, home of the Trujillo Adobe and La Placita, are connected by geography and history to the Old Spanish Trail. This is a long-forgotten and most exciting chapter of our local history. And, amazingly, there are thousands of descendants of the 1842 pioneers from Abiquiu, NM, who still live around here today! It is our purpose to help save our historical sites, most which have not been officially recognized by local, state and federal government agencies, and make sure they are not destroyed by warehouses and other unwanted development. SHA is grateful to Cecelia Pena and the Descendants & Travelers of the Old Spanish Trail Chapter for their dedication to our common cause...

Guess who's running for Mayor of Riverside? See post below for details how to participate in tomorrow night's League of Women Voters forum to be held in an online ZOOM meeting. Questions must be submitted in advance. RSVP required. See below for details.

Something new to add to our list of Treasures of the Springbrook Arroyo & Environs...

URGENT CALL TO ACTION--MARK YOUR CALENDAR: Thursday, Sept. 17 at 9:00 a.m. Good Neighbor Warehouse Revisions Riverside Planning Commission Virtual Hearing View agenda, staff report, presentation & other documents:... https://riversideca.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx Send e-Comment online before 8:00 a.m. on day of hearing: www.engageriverside.com Email comments to Planning Commission by Wednesday: [email protected] View Live Webcast online: www.engageRiverside.com Participate by telephone during hearing: (951)826-8600 at 9 a.m. For more information, contact the Planning Department: (951)826-5371 The City's current "Good Neighbor Warehouse Policy" is a component of the General Plan and its purpose is to guide warehouse construction so that it does not intrude on our neighborhoods. If you don't read it carefully you'll think it is just fine, but that is not true. The standards are so elastic City officials have been approving high-cube warehouses in or near residential neighborhoods, parks, schools, senior housing, local restaurants and so forth. Our City is turning into a truck stop. The proposed revisions are not any better, and in some ways are worse. For example, if the proposed revision is approved, the lovely open space in the Northside across Garner from Reid Park, & the CIF Cross Country Course (former golf course) will be lost to industrial development. SHA is trying to save this area from unwanted warehouses and large-scale development. We think the City can do better and will be asking the Commission to send it back to the drawing board. We think there should be a strict ban on heavy truck traffic through residential neighborhoods, prohibitions against truck parking on city streets, and so forth with stiff fines for violations. Please read the staff report, the presentation, and look at the other material before you comment. Whatever you can do will make a difference--and thank you for whatever you can do to help! Your voice counts! Speak up, speak out, spread the word! Below: View looking West from with Garner Road, Springbrook Arroyo, southern end of former village of La Placita de los Trujillos and the San Gabriel Mountains in the distance. If the proposed revision to the Good Neighbor Warehouse is adopted as is, we will lose this irreplaceable open space forever. Photo by Jim Wood.

UPDATE ON THE NORTHSIDE SPECIFIC PLAN VIRTUAL PUBLIC HEARING HELD THURSDAY, SEPT. 3: The Planning Commission voted 8 to 1 to recommend that Riverside City Council adopt the NSP, the EIR and all the other actions before them. The dissenting vote was cast by Commissioner Andrew Villalobos because of the Transition Overlay which would allow more warehouses on Center, Placentia, Main & surrounding area--something the residents & local businesses insisted they do not want in thei...r neighborhood. The matter will be heard by the City Council, date to be announced. To view Northside Specific Plan & EIR: www.NorthsidePlan.com Staff report, EIR & other material available online: https://riversidelegistar.com/Calendar.aspx For more information: Principal Planner David Murray (951)826-5773 [email protected] SHA is asking the City of Riverside to include our Springbrook Heritage Parklands & Walking Trails proposal as part of the Northside Specific Plan. It reflects the longstanding wishes of Northside residents for a land use plan based on the neighborhood's unique and irreplaceable rural-residential heritage. We think it would inspire a private-sector-driven economic renaissance by small-scale independent local investors without requiring public debt or costs to the City. Numerous grants from private non-profits and state & national agencies are available for proposals like ours. Please see our map, outline & petition on our website at www.springbrookheritagealliance.org/usefulinformation We hope you will support us More to come...

Here's one of the best episodes from one of the all-time best cooking shows ever, featuring the Old Santa Fe Trail--which is a part of our Old Spanish Trail connection...

FOR ALL OUR MEMBERS, FRIENDS & LOCAL HISTORY BUFFS: If you been wondering about the history of the house you live in, here are some tips on what to look for and how to do it. The Northside's old Spanish Town area is actually a treasure-trove of 19th-century workingman's homes that have too long been overlooked because they kind of blend into the background. But, they are easy to recognize once you know what to look for: a long shoebox shaped dwelling with a low shallow-pit...ched roof on a long and narrow lot above Orange Street between Columbia and Center Streets. The style is a Southwestern ranch house with a shake roof, usually made of adobe. Here, in our neck of the woods, they are usually wood-framed, but some are masonry or adobe. Many are stuccoed. Some have decorative wood trim, others are plain. Some have add-ons, others have not been altered in any way. They were built by and for the zanjaros and other laborers who worked for local citrus growers, water companies, packinghouses and other industries. Some of them were descendants of the Genizaros who came with Lorenzo Trujillo from New Mexico in 1842, and some are still occupied by descendants of the original owners. If you would like to help us create an inventory of these homes, or you think your home might be numbered among them, please click the Message button... See more