Devore Heights, or Devore, is a residential rural neighborhood of the city of San Bernardino, California. It is located just north of the junction of Interstate 15 and Interstate 215, about 12 miles northwest of downtown San Bernardino. It is also the last town to pass through before taking the Cajon Pass to reach Hesperia, California. The area is just outside the boundaries of the San Bernardino National Forest; nearby cities and communities include Verdemont, University Hills, Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana, and Rialto. Glen Helen Pavilion/Amphitheater, the largest amphitheater in North America, is located just south of Devore. Devore is completely within the city's 92407 ZIP Code and is within the 909 and 840 area codes as well.
History
Devore, in the northernmost corner of the original Muscupiabe Rancho in Township 2 North, Range 5 West, is an unincorporated community north of San Bernardino City in San Bernardino County bordering the San Bernardino National Forest in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountain Range between Cajon Pass and valley cities. It also includes several pieces of private property that border the Muscupiabe Rancho within the National Forest.
The San Andreas Fault runs through the hills in the upper end of Devore. In Cajon Creek/Wash below Devore run the Glen Helen and San Jacinto Faults. Ground water barriers exist between the San Andreas and Glen Helen Faults. Other earthquake rifts, like the Peters Fault, also rumble in Devore on occasion.
The name changed a few times, from El Cajon de Muscupiabe to Rancho Muscupiabe (both names were being used during the 1858 survey) to The Martin District (1887) to The Guernsey Tract (1895) to The Glen Helen Tract (1901) to Kenwood Heights (1903), and finally to Devore a year or so later. For years residents called Devore “The Southern Portal of the Cajon Pass”.
Michael White, who had arrived in the US in 1817, received the Muscupiabe grant in 1842. He had become a Mexican citizen by then, had married a prominent Hispanic maiden, the daughter of Eulalie Perez, and his Spanish name was Don Miguel Blanco. He was situated in Cable Canyon, and his job was to watch the pass for horse-thieving Indians. He quit-claimed half the Rancho to A.P. Crittenden of San Francisco and Isabella Granger of Los Angeles County in 1855. Two years later, the Whites sold the remaining half to Henry Hancock, the L.A. County deputy surveyor, who had originally surveyed the Rancho.
Kenwood Corporation, a clothing manufacturer specializing in railroad uniforms, was located in the ritzy part of Chicago and in Delaware. A high-ranking official, possibly vice president, John A. Devore was sent to Southern California in 1901 at the age of 42 to cement relationships with the railroads. He was accompanied by his wife, Anna, and her brother, Walter Evans. Devore bought land from John and Nettie (Hawley) Cole, who had a 294.68-acre Jersey dairy in the hills at the top of Kimbark Ave., and 1394 acres from John M.C. and Elizabeth Marble of Los Angeles.
In 1902, the Kenwood Corporation contracted with Chicago Title and Trust Company to mortgage the Devore property for $560,000 and to issue 2800 bonds worth $200 each. They were to be paid to the “investors” at a rate of $1.50 on the first and 15th of each month for 36 months. The Kenwood Commercial Company agreed to plant, cultivate, and maintain orchards and vineyards on the lands with trees and vines and crops most suitable to the climate and most profitable to the company. Kenwood Commercial Company filed for bankruptcy in Illinois on August 9, 1904, and for $1,000, the land of the Kenwood Company was deeded to John A. Devore in 1905. Robert N.C. Wilson and H.A. Barclay represented the California Southern Railroad Company since the deed of transfer to John Devore excluded the railroad right of way. An additional deed in 1906 transferred from Walter Evans, M.L. Cook, H.L. and J.H. and M.D. and C.H. Allison, F.S. Scheuer, and J.S. Bright, Jr. to John A. Devore many of the placer mining claims.
Devore died young in 1907. John Devore’s vision for the land that now bears his name was evidently for a place of grace and beauty, and authors of his time lauded him for the lovely homes, rock walls, and gardens he had incorporated into the design of the community. Much of his effort was destroyed by the Flood of 1938.
By the end of 1910, the R.W. Poindexter Company of Los Angeles had transferred most of the Devore/Thomas land to Thomas S. Wadsworth, C.W. Hollister, J.A. Crandall, and Walter W. Brown, and the Devore Land Company was established. Anna (Devore) Thomas and William Thomas deeded to Title Insurance and Trust Co. of L.A. portions in Sections 21 and 22, as well as 20.