Early Ontario

George and William Chaffey, immigrants from Canada, founded a model colony in Southern California in 1882. They named their settlement Ontario, from an Iroquois term meaning beautiful water, not only to pay homage to their home province but to also draw other Canadians to their colony. Utilizing forward-thinking irrigation practices, the brothers laid out plots of land ready for colonists who wanted to farm or raise citrus groves. After just four years, the brothers left for Australia to develop