Banning, California

{{See also|List of Riverside County, California, placename etymologies#Banning|label 1=List of Riverside County, California, placename etymologies: Banning}}

Initially named Moore City, by Ransom B. Moore, within only a few months the town was renamed for Phineas Banning, "Father of the Port of Los Angeles", who had pastured sheep in the San Gorgonio Pass area, and operated a stagecoach that ran through the Pass.{{cite book |last1=Gunther |first1=Jane Davies |title=Riverside County, California, Place Names; Their Origins and Their Stories |date=1984 |location=Riverside, California |pages=332}}

The area, up to the mid-19th century, was inhabited by the Cahuilla people, though the region around Banning was originally Maringayam (Serrano); the Cahuilla expansion into the pass occurred only late in recent, documented history. In 1824, the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel established the Rancho San Gorgonio in the pass. The first Anglo to settle in the area was Dr. Isaac Smith in 1853. In 1863, a smallpox epidemic further diminished the Cahuilla. The Indian reservations for the Cahuilla were established in 1877.

The settlement that was to become Banning developed in coincidence with the start of the Colorado River Gold Rush. The Bradshaw Trail, which passed through the area in 1862, was a wagon road to the gold boomtowns of the Arizona Territory. Gilman's Ranch, north of downtown, served as a station for the stagecoach lines on this road.Topographical Sketch showing the Outward and Inward Route of a Party, while examining as to the practicability of a Diversion of the Colorado River for Purposes of Irrigation, Lithograph by Eric Bergland, 1875. From, Wheeler, G.M., Topographical Atlas Projected To Illustrate United States Geographical Surveys West Of The 100th Meridian Of Longitude Prosecuted In Accordance With Acts Of Congress Under The Authority Of The Honorable The Secretary Of War, And The Direction Of Brig. Genl. A.A. Humphreys, Chief Of Engineers, U.S. Army. Embracing Results Of the Different Expeditions Under The Command Of 1st Lieut. Geo. M. Wheeler, Corps Of Engineers. Julius Bien, lith., G. Thompson, Washington, 1876. Names and distances between stations and watering places on the Bradshaw Trail taken from this survey map. The railroad followed, passing through the town in 1876. The Southern Pacific (later purchased by Union Pacific) railroad was a major contributor to the area's growth. U.S. Route 99 was built in 1923, followed by U.S. Route 60/70 in 1936, and subsequently Interstate 10.

Banning borders the Morongo Indian Reservation, home to the Morongo Band of Cahuilla (Mission) Indians. Relations with reservation residents have been strained by disputes over water rights. Dorothy Ramon's book Always Believe (published 2000) depicts a Maringayam's views on Banning and reservation life.

Prior to the name Banning, the settlement was called Moore City. Ransom B. Moore operated a large cattle ranch and was later a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, settling in the area and nearby San Gorgonio mountains in the early 1860s. Moore sold his holdings and relocated to central Arizona in 1883.

The town of Banning was incorporated on February 6, 1913.

File:Seal of Banning, California (pre 2019).png

In the early 20th century, the area immediately around Banning was considered well fitted to almond culture, and was known as the oldest almond growing district in southern California.The Almond in California, R. H. Taylor. Bulletin No. 297, August 1918, University of California Press, Berkeley. p. 18.

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66711

The St. Boniface Indian Industrial School was opened in 1890, providing vocational education to Cahuilla, Serrano, Luiseño, Kumeyaay, and other American Indians.{{cite web|last=Murkland|first=Pat|title=Inside St. Boniface|url=http://dorothyramon.blogspot.com/2009/05/inside-st-boniface.html|work=Ahunika'|publisher=Dorothy Ramon Learning Center|date=May 10, 2009}}

• {{coord|33.93835|-116.88863|display=inline}}: {{GNIS|273395|Saint Boniface School}}
• And see: {{cite book|title=Precious Blood Catholic Church and St. Boniface Indian School, Banning, California: 1890–1990, the first hundred years|year=1990|publisher=Olan Mills|location=Chattanooga, TN |oclc=31345410 }}{{cite book|last=Harley|first=Bruce|title=Readings in Diocesan Heritage |volume = 8, Seek and ye shall find: St. Boniface Indian Industrial School, 1888–1978|year=1994|publisher=Diocese of San Bernardino|location=San Bernardino, CA|pages=i–137| oclc=29934736}} Bishop Francisco Mora y Borrell authorized the school and Mother Katharine Drexel provided funding to the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions for purchase of the land, construction, and operations.{{cite web|title=The St. Boniface Indian/Industrial School|url=http://www.banninglibrarydistrict.org/banning/documents/st.pdf|work=Banning Record Gazette|publisher=Banning Public Library|date=September 9, 2011|access-date=January 5, 2014|archive-date=January 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106031600/http://www.banninglibrarydistrict.org/banning/documents/st.pdf|url-status=dead}}{{cite book|last=Rathbun|first=Tanya L.|title=Boarding House Blues: Revisiting American Indian Educational Experiences |editor=Clifford E. Trafzer |editor2=Jean A. Keller |editor3=Lorene Sisquoc |year=2006|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|isbn=978-0803244467|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S445KLj_rfEC&q=saint+boniface&pg=PA155-IA16|chapter=6. Hail Mary: The Catholic Experience at St. Boniface Indian School |oclc =63703921 }} Over its history, about 8,000 students attended the school which was demolished in 1974. A small abandoned cemetery remains.{{cite book|last=Holtzclaw|first=Kenneth M.|title=Banning|year=2006|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=978-0738529929|page=11}}

During World War II, Banning was the site of the 1,000-bed Banning General Hospital. It supported training at the Desert Training Center and was later used as a naval convalescent hospital. The facilities were dismantled in 1948.

Image:Art of Banning.jpg

Image:Ringofhonor.jpg

In 1942 the citizens of Banning raised funds for the purchase of an M3 Stuart tank to support the war effort. After the war the tank was given to the South African Defence Force. The tank, named "City of Johannesburg", is preserved at a local museum in Richmond, Natal Province, South Africa.Charmain Coulson (1985). Beaulieu-on-Illovo: Richmond Natal, its people and history. Richmond Women's League and Institute. p. 324. {{ISBN|978-0620103954}}

Banning is located at {{Coord|33|55|54|N|116|53|51|W|type:city}} (33.931729, -116.897557).{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=April 23, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of {{convert|23.1|sqmi|km2}}, all of it land.

Banning's elevation is approximately {{convert|2,300|ft|m}} above sea level, which gives it a cooler climate in contrast to the county seat of Riverside at {{convert|800|ft|m}} above sea level and the Coachella Valley of the Colorado Desert to the east.

Banning is traversed by the San Andreas Fault which created the pass in which the city is situated.

Banning is {{convert|25|mi|km}} west of Palm Springs and {{convert|100|mi|km}} east of Los Angeles.Kline, Andrew (Demand Media). "[http://traveltips.usatoday.com/airports-near-banning-california-39823.html Airports Near Banning, California]." USA Today. Retrieved on August 9, 2013.

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Banning has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps.{{cite web|url=http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=906040&cityname=Banning%2C+California%2C+United+States+of+America&units= |title=Banning, California Köppen Climate Classification |publisher=Weatherbase |access-date=December 14, 2016}}

{{US Census population

|1930= 2752

|1940= 3874

|1950= 7034

|1960= 10250

|1970= 12034

|1980= 14020

|1990= 20570

|2000= 23562

|2010= 29603

|2020= 29505

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}

}}

The 2020 United States census reported that Banning had a population of 29,505. The population density was {{convert|1,269.7|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of Banning was 46.3% White, 7.7% African American, 2.4% Native American, 6.0% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 23.8% from other races, and 13.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 45.5% of the population.{{cite web |title=Banning city, California; DP1: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics - 2020 Census of Population and Housing |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDP2020.DP1?g=1600000US0603820 |website=US Census Bureau |access-date=May 17, 2025}}

The census reported that 98.8% of the population lived in households, 0.5% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.7% were institutionalized.

There were 11,256 households, out of which 27.1% included children under the age of 18, 43.0% were married-couple households, 6.9% were cohabiting couple households, 33.2% had a female householder with no partner present, and 16.9% had a male householder with no partner present. 29.7% of households were one person, and 20.7% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.59. There were 7,254 families (64.4% of all households).{{cite web |title=Banning city, California; P16: Household Type - 2020 Census of Population and Housing |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDHC2020.P16?g=1600000US0603820 |website=US Census Bureau |access-date=May 17, 2025}}

The age distribution was 21.0% under the age of 18, 7.1% aged 18 to 24, 21.8% aged 25 to 44, 22.0% aged 45 to 64, and 28.1% who were 65{{nbsp}}years of age or older. The median age was 45.0{{nbsp}}years. For every 100 females, there were 90.0 males.

There were 11,961 housing units at an average density of {{convert|514.7|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units |units|}}, of which 11,256 (94.1%) were occupied. Of these, 67.4% were owner-occupied, and 32.6% were occupied by renters.

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 18.3% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older, 63.7% spoke only English at home, 30.7% spoke Spanish, 2.2% spoke other Indo-European languages, 3.1% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages, and 0.3% spoke other languages. Of those aged 25 or older, 82.1% were high school graduates and 17.4% had a bachelor's degree.{{cite web |title=Banning city, California; CP02: Comparative Social Characteristics in the United States - 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates Comparison Profiles |url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSCP5Y2023.CP02?g=1600000US0603820 |website=US Census Bureau |access-date=May 17, 2025}}

The median household income was $57,699, and the per capita income was $31,352. About 15.5% of families and 19.0% of the population were below the poverty line.{{cite web |title=Banning city, California; DP03: Selected Economic Characteristics - 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates Comparison Profiles |url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDP5Y2023.DP03?g=1600000US0603820 |website=US Census Bureau |access-date=May 17, 2025}}

Banning Stagecoach Days has been held annually since 1957 in recognition of the city's historic ties to the original stagecoach line that passed through the area in the late 1800s, and because the city's namesake, Phineas Banning, was himself a stagecoach operator. Currently, each year the event is operated by the non-profit "Stagecoach Days Association", and held at the AC Dysart Equestrian Park in Banning.{{cite web|url=http://stagecoachdays.org/contact/|title=Stagecoach Committee|website=Banning Stagecoach Days|publisher=Stagecoach Days Association|access-date=January 7, 2020}}

• Gilman Ranch Historic Park
• Gilman Historic Ranch and Wagon Museum

Banning is a general law city as opposed to a charter city. The elected government consists of the Banning City Council which operates under a council-manager government. The current mayor is Colleen Wallace. There are 5 city council districts. The current manager is Douglas Schulze.

The city has departments and appointed officers, including the Banning Police Department (BPD).

In the California State Legislature, Banning is in {{Representative|casd|19|fmt=sdistrict}}, and in {{Representative|caad|47|fmt=adistrict}}.{{cite web

| url = http://statewidedatabase.org/gis/gis2011/index_2011.html

| title = Statewide Database

| publisher = UC Regents

| access-date = December 10, 2014

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150201113744/http://statewidedatabase.org/gis/gis2011/index_2011.html

| archive-date = February 1, 2015

| url-status = dead

}}

In the United States House of Representatives, Banning is in {{Representative|cacd|25|fmt=district}}.{{Cite GovTrack|CA|25}}

Banning has had its own police force since shortly after its 1913 incorporation, and for many years also had a regional station of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department (which has moved eastward to neighboring Cabazon). The Beaumont, Palm Springs, Cathedral City, and Desert Hot Springs Police Departments also provide assistance in a major emergency, as well as the California Highway Patrol out of the Beaumont regional station. Additionally, the Morongo Tribal Police Department also serves the Morongo Reservation and surrounding communities.

The city of Banning contracts for fire and paramedic services with the Riverside County Fire Department through a cooperative agreement with CAL FIRE.{{cite web|url=http://rvcfire.org/about-us/service-area |title=Service Area |website=rvcfire.org |access-date=December 14, 2016}}

Most of Banning is within Banning Unified School District while a portion of it, along with most of nearby Beaumont, is within the Beaumont Unified School District.{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st06_ca/schooldistrict_maps/c06065_riverside/DC20SD_C06065.pdf|title=2020 Census – School District Reference Map: Riverside County, CA|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|pages=2–3 (PDF pp. 3–4/6)|access-date=2024-10-04}} – [https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st06_ca/schooldistrict_maps/c06065_riverside/DC20SD_C06065_SD2MS.txt Text list] Schools in the Banning USD are:

{{div col|colwidth=22em}}

• Banning High School
• Cabazon Elementary
• Central Elementary
• Coombs Alternative Education
• Hemmerling Elementary
• Hoffer Elementary
• New Horizons High (Independent Studies)
• Nicolet Middle

{{div col end}}

The city is served by Mt. San Jacinto College, a regional community college whose San Gorgonio Pass Campus is located within the city.

Former school:

• St. Boniface Indian School

Banning is served by Interstate 10, which connects the city to Los Angeles in the west and the Coachella Valley in the east. The northern terminus of State Route 243, which runs south to Idyllwild and Mountain Center, is located in the city.

City-owned Banning Municipal Airport, FAA designator: BNG, has a {{convert|5200|ft|m|adj=on}} runway.

City-owned Pass Transit operates three fixed-route buses. SunLine Transit Agency provides service to Palm Desert and Riverside. Riverside Transit Agency provides connecting service to Hemet and Moreno Valley.{{Cite web| title = Bus Schedules {{!}} Banning, CA – Official Website| access-date = October 16, 2019| url = http://www.ci.banning.ca.us/351/Bus-Schedules}}

San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital is a General Acute Care Hospital in Banning with Basic Emergency Services as of 2005.California Department of Health Services

The Summit Cemetery District operates the San Gorgonio Memorial Park, which was originally established in 1931 as the Banning-Cabazon Cemetery District.{{cite web|url=http://summitcemeterydistrict.com/san-gorgonio-memorial-park |title=Summit Cemetery District: San Gorgonio Memorial Park|website=Summitcemeterydistrict.com|access-date=December 14, 2016}}{{GNIS|273968|Sunnyslope Cemetery}}{{coord|33.9461|-116.8786|display=inline}} Notable burials include Medal of Honor recipient William Powers Morris.{{cite web|title=William Powers Morris |url=https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/3357 |work=MilitaryTimes Hall of Valor |publisher=Gannett Government Media |access-date=December 31, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140101175009/http://projects.militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards/recipient.php?recipientid=3357 |archive-date=January 1, 2014 }}

The Banning Library District operates the Banning Public Library, which was established in 1916 as the Banning Unified School District Library District and became an independent special district in 2005.{{cite web|url=http://leginfo.ca.gov/pub/05-06/bill/sen/sb_0401-0450/sb_405_bill_20050628_chaptered.pdf |title=Senate Bill No. 405 : Chapter 20 |website=Leginfo.ca.gov |access-date=December 14, 2016}}

• The protagonist in the 1950 film noir D.O.A. Frank Bigelow, played by Edmond O'Brien, is an accountant and notary from Banning.{{cite web|author=Synopsis by Hal Erickson |url=http://www.allmovie.com/work/11915 |title=D.O.A. (1950) – Rudolph Maté | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related |publisher=AllMovie |date=April 30, 1950 |access-date=December 14, 2016}}
• Location shooting for the films Buckshot John (1915), Fatherhood (1915), Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969), Sky Below, Crowd Above: The Art Scholl Story (1984), How to Make an American Quilt (1995), Follow Me Home (1996) and Evil on Queen Street (2002) took place in Banning.
• Willie Boy: A Desert Manhunt, was a 1960 novel written by Harry Lawton, and subsequently made into the film Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here, starring Robert Redford and Robert Blake. The book and movie were based on the true story of the manhunt for the fugitive Willie Boy, a Paiute Indian who killed the father of Lola, the woman he wished to marry.{{cite web |title=Gilman Historic Ranch and Wagon Museum|url=https://www.rivcoparks.org/gilman-historic-ranch-and-wagon-museum |website=RivCoParks.org |publisher=Riverside County Regional Park and Open-Space District |access-date=December 20, 2019}} Much of the story is centered around the historic Gilman Ranch located in Banning.

• Johnny Longden
• Sally Sweetland
• Earl Palmer
• John Doucette

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book|last=Lech|first=Steve|title=Along the Old Roads: A History of the Portion of Southern California that became Riverside County: 1772–1893|year=2004|location=Riverside, CA |publisher=Steve Lech|oclc=56035822}}

{{Wikivoyage|Banning}}

• {{Official website}}
• {{GNIS|269668|Banning Canyon}}

{{Riverside County, California}}

{{Inland Empire}}

{{Greater Los Angeles Area}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Cities in Riverside County, California

Category:Incorporated cities and towns in California

Category:Populated places established in 1913

Category:Bradshaw Trail

Category:1913 establishments in California