Founding the City of Rancho Cucamonga, 1972-1978: An Acknowledgement of the Contribution of the Volunteers

by Catherine V. Bridge

2006 signed and inscribed first edition, Paige Press (Claremont, California), 8 1/2 x 10 7/8 inches tall paperbound in glossy green pictorial covers, [14], 321 pp. Half-page prospectus laid in. Very slight rubbing to covers. On the half title page, nicely inscribed and signed by the author, pioneering WASP pilot and public servant who worked to found the City of Rancho Cucamonga, Catherine 'Cappy' Vail Bridge (1920-2022). Very light damp stain, barely visible, to the lower edges of pages in the last two-thirds of the book. Otherwise, a very good copy - clean, bright and unmarked - of this rare local history. OCLC (No. 124077721) locates only two copies at collections worldwide - at The Claremont Colleges and UC Berkeley in California. 

This case study offers a unique and comprehensive perspective on the founding of Rancho Cucamonga, a city located just south of the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains and Angeles National Forest in San Bernardino County, California. From three formerly self-sufficient and proudly independent rural farmland communities, a thriving and integrated city was formed through the leadership and organizational abilities of citizen volunteers on the city incorporation committees. Founding the City of Rancho Cucamonga is not only a tribute to the efforts of dedicated citizens, but also a reflection of the author's education in the fields of political service and democratic principles gained through the studies offered at the University of California, Berkeley and the Claremont Graduate University.