Adolph Koebig, San Bernardino’s city engineer, was envious of the Bear Valley Reservoir and Irrigation Company, which had built a $75,000 dam in Big Bear Valley in 1884, securing a year-round steady supply of water, allowing the Redlands agriculture industry to...
By RHEA-FRANCES TETLEY Historian As this unusual summer ends, let’s look back at the summer of 1949 and see how people who came up the mountain enjoyed the mountains back then. What did the mountains offer to visitors, besides lakes and hiking, all of which...
By RHEA-FRANCES TETLEY Historian Recreational activities have abounded in the San Bernardino Mountains since people first visited here. Labor Day weekend was always the final big holiday for vacationers, since school would start that next week. Around the turn...
By RHEA-FRANCES TETLEY Historian The Green Valley Tollhouse and Hotel was built by Bear Valley Wagon Toll Road builders Gus Knight Jr. and brother-in-law J.R. Metcalf. They hired George and Demaris Tillitt in 1903 to operate the tollhouse and maintain the dirt...
By RHEA-FRANCES TETLEY Historian Gus Knight Sr. and Jr. are prominent in mountain history because they were early pioneers who, when they saw a need, did something and were not afraid of a challenge or failure. Augustus (Gus) Knight Sr. came to the San...
By RHEA-FRANCES TETLEY Historian Summertime on the mountain is the best time to experience the great outdoors and go fishing and hiking. The difficulty in the early days was getting up the mountains but it was well rewarded by pleasant temperatures and cool...
