Historic Roads in Windbreaker Country

December 31, 2018.  For nearly 15 years now, we Windbreakers have had our morning "meet-ups" at the corner of Benson Avenue and Baseline Road in the City of Upland.  Indeed, that very first club ride when Ridemaster Joe and I met on a cold morning in 2004 started on Baseline Road. 

Windbreaker Country is criss-crossed with historic roads...whether it be Foothill Boulevard ("Route 66") or Euclid Avenue (referred to by the Chaffey brothers as "a thing of beauty forever"), our rides cover these routes each weekend.  But what about Baseline Road (also referred to as 16th Street in Upland)?  There is history here as well.

A Base Line monument located in a San Bernardino park,
with snow-covered San Bernardino Peak in the background.

November 7, 1852 was an important date in the San Bernardino Valley and Southern California.  For it was on this date that Col. Henry Washington, a United States Deputy Surveyor began his work to set a base line from a monument on top of San Bernardino Peak across the valley and into Los Angeles County.  In the U.S. Public Land Survey System, a baseline is a principal east - west line (i.e. a parallel) upon which all rectangular surveys in a defined area are based.

This base line crosses a meridian (the north -south line and one of only three in the State of California) near San Bernardino Peak, which form the basis for land titles and legal descriptions of property established in California, and upon which all subdivision surveys for the southern part of the state were made - and still are. Baseline Road follows this east - west orientation (hence the name).

Col. Henry Washington's monument, atop San Bernardino Peak

San Bernardino Peak (elev. 10,624'), with Col. Washington's monument on top, is clearly visible as we look due east from our morning meet-up spot.  We tip our helmets to Col. Washington...Ride On!