Headstones of Pilar Trujillo de Rubidoux and Frederico Rubidoux, dating back to the early 1900s, stand beneath a tree at Agua Mansa, a historical pioneer cemetery in Colton on Oct. 4, 2023. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
It’s now free to get into several of the San Bernardino County Museum’s historic sites.
The sites are Agua Mansa Cemetery in Colton, the María Merced Williams and John Rains House in Rancho Cucamonga, and Oro Grande Cemetery in Oro Grande.
“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,” museum director David Myers said in a news release.
Free admission will last through 2024 with a possible extension into next year, officials said.
Visitors to Agua Mansa Pioneer Cemetery in Colton look at grave markers on May 22, 2024, some of which date back to the 1800s. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
This is a military gravestone at Agua Mansa cemetery of Civil War soldier Jose Gustamente. He served in the Union Army in Southern California in the latter months of the Civil War. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A cistern in the courtyard of the John Rains House in Rancho Cucamonga, used as a storage place for water. (File photo by Stan Lim, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Visitors look at displays inside the church at Agua Mansa Pioneer Cemetery in Colton on May 22, 2024. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A sculpture commemorating Lorenzo Trujillo’s gravesite stands near the entrance to Agua Mansa Pioneer Cemetery in Colton on Wednesday, May 22, 2024. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A grave of a veteran sits near the entrance of Agua Mansa Pioneer Cemetery in Colton on Wednesday, May 22, 2024. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A bird perches on a headstone at Agua Mansa, a historical pioneer cemetery in Colton on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Visitors to Agua Mansa Pioneer Cemetery in Colton look at grave markers on May 22, 2024, some of which date back to the 1800s. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A hand-carved stone marker from the early 1900s in the Agua Mansa Pioneer Cemetery in Colton. (File photo by Amanda Lucidon, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Broken and sunken headstones are visible at Agua Mansa, a historical pioneer cemetery in Colton on Oct. 4, 2023. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Headstones of Pilar Trujillo de Rubidoux and Frederico Rubidoux, dating back to the early 1900s, stand beneath a tree at Agua Mansa, a historical pioneer cemetery in Colton on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
A pair of old school desk on display at the John Rains House in Rancho Cucamonga. (File photo by Stan Lim, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
A lizard crawls across one of the headstones inside the Agua Mansa Pioneer Cemetery in Colton on Nov. 6, 2019. (Photo by Jennifer Cappuccio Maher, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
The John Rains House in Rancho Cucamonga is on the National Register of HIstoric Places. (File photo by Stan Lim, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Oil chandeliers were used throughout the John Rains House in Rancho Cucamonga. (File photo by Stan Lim, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
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Visitors to Agua Mansa Pioneer Cemetery in Colton look at grave markers on May 22, 2024, some of which date back to the 1800s. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Each location holds cultural and historical significance, offering visitors a glimpse into the area’s past.
With the free access “we hope to encourage visitation and inspire people to explore the rich history in their own backyards,” said Jennifer McCormick of the San Bernardino County Museum,
The Agua Mansa Cemetery is all that remains of the once-flourishing pioneer communities of Agua Mansa and Placita, originally settled around the 1840s, according to the San Bernardino County Museum’s website.
Prominent figures Cornelius Jensen and his wife, Mercedes Alvarado Jensen, and Louis Rubidoux are buried in the Agua Mansa Cemetery.
The John Rains House in Rancho Cucamonga was built in 1860 with bricks made from the red clay on the site, and its roof was waterproofed by tar from the Brea Pits in Los Angeles, according to the museum webpage.
The first school in the area is said to have started in the Rains house in 1870.
The Oro Grand Cemetery, located in the High Desert region of Oro Grand, dates back to 1852 and features a memorial for local WWII Purple Heart recipient Lt. Manuel P. Rodriguez, according to the release.
