San Bernardino Asistencia

An asistencia is a mission substation rather than a mission, and this one worked San Gabriel's holdings at the far eastern edge of its reach. Lugo used the buildings as part of his rancho in the 1840s, a Mormon bishop had them in the 1850s and a doctor in the 1860s, and by the 1930s most of it was gone. What stands on Barton Road is substantially the work of a Works Progress Administration crew who finished in 1937: a relief project wearing an 1830 face. The 1960 bronze has been missing since at least 2019.

What the plaque says

This branch of San Gabriel Mission was constructed about 1830 on the San Bernardino Rancho. During the 1840's, its buildings were used by José del Carmen Lugo as part of his rancho grant. Later, after its sale to the Mormons, it was occupied by Bishop Tenney in the 1850's, and by Dr. Benjamin Barton in the 1860's. Its restoration was completed in 1937 by the Works Progress Administration, assisted by the San Bernardino County Historical Society.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Original McDonald's Site — 6.9 mi
  The corner where two brothers invented fast food, now an unofficial museum the corporation has never blessed.
• Wigwam Motel — 8.6 mi
  Nineteen concrete teepees on Foothill Boulevard, the last of Frank Redford's Wigwam Villages and still renting rooms.
• Harada House — 9.8 mi
  The 1884 cottage a Japanese American family bought in their children's names, and kept in court.
• Mount Rubidoux — 11 mi
  The mountain all of Riverside walks — and the half-acre at the summit the city sold rather than go to court.

More markers nearby

• Guachama Rancheria — 1.3 mi
• A.K. Smiley Public Library — 1.9 mi
• Kimberly Crest — 2.6 mi
• The Zanja — 2.9 mi