May 20, 2010 - Bicentennial

We are looking East from the northwest corner of Inland Center Drive and I Street, one block West of the 215 Freeway. (Photo by Steve Shaw)

The 1910 Centennial Cornerstone sits to the left of the 2010 Bicentennial Monument.  Both monuments honor Father Francisco Dumetz, a Spanish Franciscan missionary from Mission San Gabriel, who named the valley San Bernardino on May 20, 1810.  

The 1910 Cornerstone was originally located a few hundred feet to the North and West of its current position. It was to be the cornerstone of a new chapel and museum to be built on Bunker Hill (De Sienna Springs), however funding never materialized and the cornerstone sat alone in a grassy area for years and then was put into storage.

In 1976, the polished granite stone was relocated to the curb on Inland Center Drive, in front of St. Prophet Elias Greek Orthodox Church.  There it remained until 2007, when a vehicle damaged the foundation and the stone was moved to the San Bernardino Historical and Pioneer Society.

On Thursday, May 20, 2010, the restored Centennial Cornerstone and a new Bicentennial Monument were dedicated near the corner of Inland Center Drive and I Street.

(For more information see John Weeks' book, San Bernardino Bicentennial, 1810 - 2010.)

Note: For related stories see "May 20, 1810"; "May 20, 1910" and "May 20, 1960".