Chronology of George Chaffey JR's Life

Chaffey High School and the Community
A resource for history, news, and events surrounding the Chaffey Community.

Chronology of
George Chaffey Jr.'s Life

Taken in part from the Sesquicentennial
Calendar by the
Etiwanda Historical Society
Last Updated April 13, 2000

George Chaffey Jr. in the 1920's.

Time Line

1848	George was born January 28th, in Brockville, in Ontario, a Province in Canada.
1869	Married Annette McCord, 5/31/1869.
1869-1874	Designed over 20 passenger and freight ships for river and lake trade.
1874	Birth of their first son Andrew, (4/19/1874--7/16/1941).
1875	The ship "Geneva" was launched.
1876	The "Geneva" was on the cover of Scientific American Magazine.
1877	Birth of their second son Ben, (9/24/1877--4/1/1937 Melbourne, Australia).
1877	Parents, two brothers and sister moved from Canada to Highlands area in Riverside, California, seeking a better climate for health reasons.
1879	The ship "Sunbeam" was launched.
1881	Brought family to visit his parents and brothers and sister in Riverside, California. They never returned to Canada.
	On Thanksgiving Day November 24, purchased the Chaffey-Garcia House, land and water rights from Captain Joseph Garcia, a Portuguese sea captain, in today's Etiwanda.
1881-1882	Founded the Etiwanda Colony.
1882	George's 70-foot Arc Light was lit at the Chaffey-Garcia House, a first.
	Formed the Etiwanda Water Company (the first Mutual Water Company in California.
	Los Angeles streetlights were lit (first major city in the world to be lit entirely be electricity).
	Purchased 6,216 acres of land and established the Ontario Model Colony.
	San Antonio Water Company was formed (still located on Euclid Avenue).
	Started the first Ontario newspaper called Ontario Fruitgrowe.
1883	Laid the cornerstone for the original Chaffey College of Agricultural on Euclid Avenue.
	Built a house for his mother, Anne Chaffey and sister Emma (now known as the Chaffey-Isle House, twice moved and now on Etiwanda Avenue).
	Birth of their son John Burton (while they lived in Etiwanda).
1886	Family left for Australia where he founded Mildura and Renmark.
	Signed agreement with Victorian Government (Province).
1887	Indenture of 50,000 acres plus 200,000 acres optional Renmark agreement with South Australian Province.
	George and family move in at Paringa.
1889	George's little sister Emma married Peter McLaren.
1890	Shire of Mildura formed (one of two counties George would establish).
1891	After remodeling paddle steamers with cabins, electricity, galleys and classy dining rooms using his former ship building expertise, George built the P. S. Pearl at Mildura to further increase Murray River traffic.
1897	Left Sydney for Florida with wife Annette and son, John Burton.
1998	Returned to Ontario as consultant for San Antonio Water Company. Increased water flow with series of wells and tunnel. Purchased 35 acres at Red Hill for water. Cleared $75,000 in sale to Ontario.
1900	Signed contract to bring water to Colorado Desert.
1901	Telegram to Andrew M. Chaffey, L. A.: "Water turned through gate at 11 a.m." today this project, the Imperial Valley, is over one million acres, the largest in the world.
1902	Founding president of First National Bank of Ontario.
	Builder with son Andrew of the Hydro Electric Plant in San Antonio Canyon (still produces for SCE today).
	Files suit against USC, on behalf of the people, to regain control over Chaffey College of Agriculture.
	Succeeds in litigation. School renamed Ontario High School.
	Purchased an interest in the East Whittier & La Habra Water Company. This later allows for the founding of La Habra and Brea. His son John Burton managed the water company.
1905	George and Andrew founded the First National Bank of Upland and Sierra Securities.
	George started the town of Manzanar. For more than 25 years is produced lots of apples, but L. A. finally acquired most of the water rights.
1901-1920	George and son Andrew opened more than 25 banks.
1911-1912	Ontario and Upland communities vote to form Chaffey Union High School District and regain use of $80,000 endowment fund.
1920	The banks were consolidated and became the California Bank with Andrew as president and George as director.
1917	Annette Chaffey dies in Whittier, California. Interred there in mausoleum. George was devastated and begins withdrawing from business.
1919	Moves to Balboa, two doors from the Pavilion.
	Designs, and has built, the "Mildura," a 50-foot yacht.
1920	Buys a Hudson chassis; then around it he designs, and has built, an early version of a RV, which he called the "Sally Brown."
1921-1927	Makes a detailed diary of his trips through the West in the "Sally Brown."
1928	California Bank now has 50 branches; George retires as director at the age of 80.
1929	George designs and has built, at San Diego, the 100-foot yacht, "Mildura II" which is too large for Newport so he moves to San Diego.
1930	Helps start the City of Imperial Beach -- "For my friends in Imperial County."
1932	George dies in San Diego at the age of 84. He had planned to be at Ontario's 50-year celebration in May.
1932	Buried at Bellevue Cemetery Ontario, CA
1942	The "USS George Chaffey" was launched -- a World War II liberty ship.

A brief summary of some of George Chaffey's accomplishments should include:
Hydroelectricity
Twelve towns founded
Long distance telephone
Irrigation systems in 4 deserts
Numerous hydro pumping systems
A Valley here, Two counties in Australia
A College of Agricultural turned High School
A second Chaffey Secondary College in Australia
An untold amount of support for education
More than two dozen ships
Four water companies
Numerous banks
Two yachts
And His own precursor of today's Recreation Vehicle, the "Sally Brown"

But the life and accomplishments of George Chaffey cannot solely be
enumerated to portray the heart, the soul, the integrity, the genius
of the man, the pioneer, the engineer, the inventor, the doer, the
benefactor of education. We defer to the written portrait by J. A. Alexander who interviewed
George Chaffey at Balboa, California, 1928, when he was then eighty years old
The final page of his book concludes the last chapter on
"Dreams That Came True"
which prose rings out poetically to our ears.

An old man bowed down by the weight of years,
living in retirement at a beautiful town seated by the sea,
looks back over a life of achievement and service.
Musing over the past, he sees again visions of the half-dozen communities
scattered over two continents and created by him --
each symbolizing beauty and fertility founded on his association with it.

Once these were barren sun-seared wastes,
hateful to man and beast,
and he had been the first to prove that
the deserts were not dead, but sleeping.
He had dreamed of transforming these parched plains into smiling oases and,
with a burning faith in his dreams which convinced the skeptical,
he had transformed wildernesses into gardens,
bringing prosperity to thousands of home seekers from crowded cities.

Like Moses he had struck the rock and
plenteous streams gushed forth.
The bare plains smiled and a
hundred million blades of grass grew
where none grew before.
Sage-brush, mallee, salt-bush, mesquite, greasewood and chaparral gave place to orange, vine, fig, olive and date, and radiant corn rippled in the wind.

We have seen that the engines designed by him
to stir to fecundity the thirsty pine ridges and blue-bush flats of Mildura
were said to be useless by his enemies of thirty odd years ago.
Those engines are working to this day forcing Mildura's life blood
through to the furthest limits of its great arterial system,
daily giving the lie to the critics of 1896.
The old man smiles when he thinks of Mildura's giant heart,
still throbbing rhythmically,
giving no sign of the syncope said to be imminent more than thirty years ago.

The Dreamer, now eighty years old,
surrounded by love, honor, obedience and troops of friends,
is George Chaffey,
the Canadian boy who dreamed in a Lakeside town
nearly seventy years ago dreams that came true.
Throughout the years to come the brimming channels of
Etiwanda, Ontario, Mildura, Renmark, Imperial Valley and La Habra
will keep his memory green.

* taken from Page 379, Life of George Chaffey, by J. A. Alexander

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