Fontana

About Fontana

Fontana is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. Founded by Azariel Blanchard Miller in 1913, it remained essentially rural until World War II, when entrepreneur Henry J. Kaiser built a large steel mill in the area. It is now a regional hub of the trucking industry, with the east–west Interstate 10 and State Route 210 crossing the city and Interstate 15 passing diagonally through its northwestern quadrant. The city is about 46 miles (74 km) east of Los Angeles.

The United States Census Bureau reported that Fontana's 2020 population was 208,393, making it the second-most-populous city in San Bernardino County and the 20th largest in the state.

Fontana, formerly Rosena from 1890 to 1919, was founded in 1919 by Azariel Blanchard Miller. The name fontana is Italian for fountain or water source; the city is close to the Santa Ana River to the east. Within a few years, it became an agricultural town of citrus orchards, vineyards and chicken ranches and astride U.S. Route 66 (now known as Foothill Boulevard). The Fontana area was radically transformed during World War II when Henry J. Kaiser built the Kaiser Steel plant...

Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.