The Old Spanish Trail ran right through what is now " O" Street in the City of Colton on its way to Agua Mansa which was the first City in San Bernardino County. The OST was the main trade route for the diverse group of settlers that traveled back and forth from New Mexico to Los Angeles in the 1800's. It can be argued that Agua Mansa was the Hub for trade in California for decades. This all ended after a great flood that destroyed the town.
Today, what was once Agua Mansa is the City of Colton. Still a Hub for trade, but by way of railroads and semi-trucks. Goods like tobacco, coffee and clothing have found new means of transportation to their final point of sale.
Unfortunately, goods were not the only commodity along the OST. Stolen livestock and slaves were also traded, released and buried along the trail. The South Colton Diversity Committee has been researching the OST for years and is now dedicated to revitalizing and celebrating the area of South Colton that the OST occupied along with the individuals that contributed to the area’s growth.
With the support of the San Bernardino County Supervisors Office. The South Colton Diversity Committee will be hosting events and giving tours of the trail that helped to form the State of California along with educating visitors about how the West was really won.
Streets like La Cadena (Spanish for Slave Chains) and Mount Vernon (the biggest plantation in the south) will be replaced with names like Juan Caldera (the Mexican Businessman that was deported after building recreational facilities). Monuments and local artists will highlight life in precolonial California while offering a glimpse into the future. While some City Council Members are focused on the past, South Colton Diversity Committee Chairperson Gene Valdez says "we will be laying out a useful heritage to guide future generations by capturing, protecting and cultivating the areas Cultural Resources that have been ignored for far too long”.