by Kenneth M. Holtzclaw (Author), Jeff Fox (Author)
For years, the plateau cradled between Mount San Gorgonio in the San Bernardino Mountain Range and Mount San Jacinto in the San Jacinto Mountain Range was called Summit, because it was the highest point in the San Gorgonio Pass. The Southern Pacific Railroad built a small red station at that site even before it was a town. A real estate boom followed, and the town's name metamorphosed from Summit to San Gorgonio to Beaumont. A real estate bust occurred in the late 1980s and eventually ebbed, allowing growth to once again rebound. Early years had been synonymous with stagecoach routes that passed through the San Gorgonio Pass, until the railroad became the dominant entity. Beginning with early pioneer families, there was always a strong desire to promote growth, resulting in a thriving community that arose from the meager foundations of a once-small town.