The Day the President Came to Town: Benjamin Harrison's 1891 Visit to Southern California

Abstract

KINGSLEY bell tower standing out like a beacon amid the young citrus groves and the yet to be tamed chaparral north of the town of Pomona, stood empty that April day in 1891 . The school's pot belly stove, which over the past several weeks had been used chiefly to dry out wet clothes, stood cold. For although the school was proclaimed as one of the best in the valley back in 1885 when its patron, Samuel Kingsley, had donated the land and paid for its construction, perhaps its only fault was its location near a wash. During what passes as a rainy season in southern California, students who had the misfortune of having to cross the wash to attend school, got a good soaking for their efforts. However, like the schoolhouse, on this day the wash too was empty; Wednesday, April 22 had dawned a bright sunny day over the Southland. San Bernardino Road, a dirt path which pre-dated the school by a decade and connected Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, in spite of the good weather, was void of traffic. Less than two miles to the southeast the most exciting event in the young lives of Kingsley School's students was about to take place; an event so important the board of trustees of the Pomona City School District ordered all four of its school closed so every child could take part.1 It was the day the President came to