Reche Canyon

This inviting valley was named for the first settler, who met an untimely end when he took his own life because his daughter eloped with one of his sheepherders.

Image of the Console Mineral Springs "New Life" Water
Console Mineral Springs "New Life" Water

The early development of the Canyon is intimately associated with the Console family, who moved there in 1894 from Los Angeles. John Console had seventeen children, of whom ten are living today (as of 1966) - many of them still in Reche Canyon.

When interviewed in his San Bernardino home, Dewey Console said he remembered when the last Butterfield Stage traversed the Canyon, which was a regular thoroughfare for travel in the early days. Mr. Console was born in Los Angeles in 1888, and said he remembered a large band of Indians living in the Canyon when they moved there. He said there were perhaps 1800.

The Console family owned the mineral springs in the Canyon, and sold water drawn from it in all the surrounding towns. They carried it to Redlands, Riverside and San Bernardino by wagon, and shipped 400 bottles a week by rail to Randsburg on the desert.

The Consoles solicited testimonials regarding the health-giving powers of their mineral springs water, and these they printed up in circulars and distributed from their wagon. Bill Pablo, the Indian chief, wrote a testimonial regarding the water. Many area residents still remember the Console family and their water wagons.

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