The San Bernardino County Museum is offering free admission to several of the county’s historic sites, including the Agua Mansa Pioneer Cemetery, the María Merced Williams and John Rains House, and the Oro Grande Cemetery.
“By offering free admission to our historic sites, we hope to attract new visitors and provide access to these historically significant sites to our entire community,” said Museum Director David Myers.
The Agua Mansa Pioneer Cemetery is all that remains of the communities of Agua Mansa and La Placita. Situated across from each other along the Santa Ana River, they were the first non-native settlements in the San Bernardino Valley and the largest settlements between New Mexico and Los Angeles during the 1840s. The cemetery is located at 2001 Agua Mansa Road in Colton and is open Sunday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Donations are welcome.
The María Merced Williams and John Rains House, built in 1860, has a history as colorful as the property’s gardens. Namesakes Rains and Merced, granddaughter of the prominent landowner Don Antonio Maria Lugo, built the home to withstand the hot inland Southern California climate, and of course to entertain. The house is located at 8810 Hemlock Street, at the Vineyard Avenue exit from Interstate 10 in Rancho Cucamonga and is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Oro Grande Cemetery is known to be one of the oldest cemeteries in San Bernardino County with the first recorded burial dated in 1852. The site has since been designated as a California Point of Historical Interest and features a memorial honoring Lt. Manuel P. Rodriguez, whose Purple Heart is on display at the Victor Valley Museum. The cemetery is located at 1313 Olive Street in Oro Grande and is open every day.
The San Bernardino County Museum’s exhibits of regional, cultural and natural history and the Museum’s other exciting events and programs reflect the effort by the Board of Supervisors to achieve the Countywide Vision by celebrating arts, culture and education in the county, creating quality of life for residents and visitors.
For more information, visit museum.sbcounty.gov