December 15, 1851 - Fort San Bernardino

There are no photographs of the actual Mormon Stockade or what has commonly been called Fort San Bernardino.  What you see above is depiction of the fort from a 1976 painting by Hazel C. Olson.

When the Mormons arrived in San Bernardino there was great fear of an attack by the desert Indians.  On December 15, 1851, after only 20 days of construction, the settlers completed a stockade that measured 750 feet long, 320 feet wide and 12 feet high.

In addition to the homes, inside the fort was a stream, a meeting and school house, a wagon shop, the colony office, and a tithing and store house.

The fort was located at the site of the 1926 Court House at Arrowhead Avenue and Court Street. There never was an attack on the fort and in 1853 the Mormons began to develop a master plan for the town based on the map of Salt Lake City.  

The County of San Bernardino was created in 1853 and the City of San Bernardino was incorporated in 1854.

Click here for details of the fort and its occupants, as well as the first map of the City.