The Rialto Historical Society will host a free Heritage Day celebration on Saturday, Nov. 14, marking 115 years of city history.
The event runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Rialto Historical Society Museum, 205 N. Riverside Ave., according to the society's events page. Admission is free.
Rialto was incorporated as a city in 1911, when 1,500 residents and 40 businesses called it home, according to the Rialto Historical Society's history page. The incorporation election on Oct. 31 of that year passed 135 to 72, according to the historical society and a San Bernardino County history profile of the city.
The city's roots stretch back further. The Rialto colony was founded in 1887 after the Santa Fe Railroad built a connector line between San Bernardino and Pasadena. The Semi-Tropic Land and Water Company bought 28,500 acres west of Lytle Creek, laid out the townsite and built a canal for water, according to the historical society. A group of Kansas Methodists arrived that same year, purchased land and established the early community.
The museum itself sits in a building with its own story. The former Congregational Church was built in 1906, designed by H.M. Patterson, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003, according to the county history profile. It serves as the historical society's headquarters.
The society also preserves the Rialto Adobe, an 1853 structure built by former seaman Michael White in what is now Bud Bender Park. It is considered the oldest standing building in Rialto, according to the society's website. The adobe is available for educational visits and group tours through the historical society.
Visitors to Heritage Day can browse books and merchandise. Titles available include "Images of America: Rialto" for $20, "The Little Girl in the Window: A True Ghost Story" for $20 and "Scammers, Schemers, and Dreamers" for $15, according to the society's events page.
A city social media post promoting the event lists 909-421-4906 as the contact number. The historical society's website lists 909-875-1750 as its general phone number.
