Loma Linda ( Spanish for "Beautiful Hill") is a city in San Bernardino County,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, United States, that was incorporated in 1970. The population was 24,791 at the 2020 census, up from 23,261 at the 2010 census. The central area of the city was originally known as Mound City, while its eastern half was originally the

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

of Bryn Mawr.

History

The Tongva village of Wa’aachnga, or as the Spanish referred to it as the Guachama Rancheria, was located at what is now Loma Linda. The rancheria was later occupied by the

Cahuilla The Cahuilla , also known as ʔívil̃uqaletem or Ivilyuqaletem, are a Native American people of the various tribes of the Cahuilla Nation, living in the inland areas of southern California.Serrano after it was established as a mission outpost for Mission San Gabriel in the early 1800s.Marker Database, 'Guachama Rancheria
/ref>San Bernardino, Pageant of History Begins to Unfold, By L. BURR BELDEN, Sun-Telegram Historical Writer, 1960
/ref> In the late 1800s, Loma Linda began as a development of tourist halls called Mound City, as encouraged by railroad companies. Shops and cottages were built, but the project would later fail. During the late 1890s, a group of businessmen and physicians from Los Angeles bought the Mound City Hotel and reopened it as a convalescent home and health resort. They called it ''Loma Linda'', meaning 'beautiful hill' in Spanish. In 1905 Seventh-day Adventists John Burden and

Ellen G. White Ellen Gould White (née Harmon; November 26, 1827 – July 16, 1915) was an American woman author and co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Along with other Adventist leaders such as Joseph Bates and her husband James White, she wa ...

purchased the Loma Linda Hotel and property and reopened it as the Loma Linda Sanitarium. In February 1906, The Loma Linda College of Evangelists was established. In 1969,

San Timoteo Creek San Timoteo Creek (also called San Timoteo Wash, colloquially known as San Tim) is a stream in Riverside and San Bernardino counties in southern California, United States. A tributary of the Santa Ana River, it flows through San Timoteo Canyo ...

overflowed its banks, inundating two-thirds of Loma Linda. Many of the bridges over the creek washed away, and Loma Linda Academy was completely flooded. In 2010, the creek again flooded parts of Loma Linda. The city was incorporated in 1970.

Geography

Loma Linda is located in southwestern San Bernardino County and is considered part of the

Inland Empire The Inland Empire (IE) is a metropolitan area and region inland of and adjacent to coastal Southern California, centering around the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, and bordering Los Angeles County to the west. It includes the citie ...

. It is bordered on the north by the city of San Bernardino, on the east by Redlands, on the west by Colton, and on the south by Riverside County. An area of

unincorporated territory Territories of the United States are sub-national administrative divisions overseen by the federal government of the United States. The various American territories differ from the U.S. states and tribal reservations as they are not sove ...

in Riverside County separates Loma Linda from the city of

Moreno Valley Moreno Valley is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and is part of the Riverside–San Bernardino–Ontario metropolitan area. It is the second-largest city in Riverside County by population and one of the Inland Empire's p ...

to the south. The remnants of Bryn Mawr, an

formerly located between Loma Linda and Redlands, were annexed by the city in 2008. Loma Linda is in the southern San Bernardino Valley. The southern third of the city is known as the South Hills; this rugged and hilly area at the northwestern end of the Badlands is a city-owned open space reserve protected by a local

initiative In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a ...

flows from southeast to northwest through the city. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the city has a total area of , 99.99% of it land.

Water contamination and air pollution

Ground water near Loma Linda is contaminated by a plume of the chemical

perchlorate A perchlorate is a chemical compound containing the perchlorate ion, . The majority of perchlorates are commercially produced salts. They are mainly used as oxidizers for pyrotechnic devices and to control static electricity in food packaging. ...

which was used in the manufacturing of

solid rocket A solid-propellant rocket or solid rocket is a rocket with a rocket engine that uses solid propellants ( fuel/ oxidizer). The earliest rockets were solid-fuel rockets powered by gunpowder; they were used in warfare by the Arabs, Chinese, ...

fuel. This chemical was also formerly (decades ago and in very small amounts) prescribed by physicians to control the overactive thyroid glands of certain patients. A nearby plant operated by Lockheed Aerospace has been implicated in the improper disposal of the rocket fuel ingredient, which leached into the ground water northeast of Loma Linda. Loma Linda's municipal water supply, nevertheless, has been unaffected by the plume, primarily because Lockheed Martin installed a $19 million treatment plant in 2010 to remove both perchlorate and trichloroethylene from water after pumping it from the aquifer.

Demographics

2010

At the 2010 Census, Loma Linda had a population of 23,261. The population density was . The racial makeup of Loma Linda was 47.8% White (11,122 people; 37.0% Non-Hispanic White); 8.7% African American (2,032 people); 0.4% Native American (97 people); 28.3% Asian (6,589 people); 0.7% Pacific Islander (154 people); 8.7% from other races (2,022 people); and 5.4% from two or more races (1,245 people). Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5,171 people (22.2%). The census reported that 22,457 people (96.5% of the population) lived in households, 562 (2.4%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 242 (1.0%) were institutionalized. There were 8,764 households, 2,650 (30.2%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 3,832 (43.7%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,190 (13.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 461 (5.3%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 351 (4.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 46 (0.5%) same-sex married couples or partnerships, while 2,453 households (28.0%) were one person and 837 (9.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.56. There were 5,483 families (62.6% of households); the average family size was 3.18. The age distribution was 4,859 people (20.9%) under the age of 18, 2,642 people (11.4%) aged 18 to 24, 7,463 people (32.1%) aged 25 to 44, 5,056 people (21.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 3,241 people (13.9%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 33.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.9 males. There were 9,649 housing units at an average density of 1,283.6 per square mile, of the occupied units 3,432 (39.2%) were owner-occupied and 5,332 (60.8%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 9.9%. 9,496 people (40.8% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 12,961 people (55.7%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

At the 2000 Census, there were 18,681 people in 7,536 households, including 4,498 families, in the city. The population density was . There were 8,084 housing units at an average density of . The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the city was 54.2% White, 7.2% African American, 0.5% Native American, 24.4% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 7.5% from other races, and 6.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.3%. Of the 7,536 households 27.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.7% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.3% were non-families. Of all households 31.2% were one person and 10.5% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.4 and the average family size was 3.1. Loma linda university

The age distribution was 21.9% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 33.2% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.2 males. The median household income was $38,204 and the median family income was $45,774. Males had a median income of $36,086 versus $35,096 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,189. About 12.9% of families and 15.1% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 18.6% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over. Whether or not these poverty statistics include unemployed full-time students is not known.

Longevity

Residents in Loma Linda have one of the highest rates of

longevity The word " longevity" is sometimes used as a synonym for " life expectancy" in demography. However, the term ''longevity'' is sometimes meant to refer only to especially long-lived members of a population, whereas ''life expectancy'' is always ...

in the United States. Writer

Dan Buettner Dan Buettner (born June 18, 1960) is an American National Geographic Fellow and ''New York Times''-bestselling author. He is an explorer, educator, author, producer, storyteller and public speaker. He co-produced an Emmy Award-winning document ...

has labeled Loma Linda a Blue Zone, an area where the longevity is appreciably higher than the national average and a substantial proportion of the population lives past 100 years. Buettner's 2008 book, ''The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest'', attributes Loma Linda's longevity rate to Adventist cultural health and diet practices. The city strictly controls the sale of alcohol and has banned public smoking. The church-owned grocery store does not sell meat.

Government

Loma Linda uses the council-manager form of government, and the City Council is composed of

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Rhodes Rigsby, Phill Dupper, Ovidiu Popescu, Ron Dailey, and

pro tempore ''Pro tempore'' (), abbreviated ''pro tem'' or ''p.t.'', is a Latin phrase which best translates to "for the time being" in English. This phrase is often used to describe a person who acts as a '' locum tenens'' (placeholder) in the absence o ...

John Lenart. Police services are provided by the

San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office The San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner's Department (SBSD) serves San Bernardino County, California, which is geographically the largest county in the United States (excluding Alaska's boroughs) and is headquartered in San Bernardino city. ...

State and federal representation

In the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legislatu ...

, Loma Linda is in , and in . In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, Loma Linda is in .

Education

The city of Loma Linda forms part of the Redlands Unified School District, with Bryn Mawr Elementary School being situated within Loma Linda city limits. However, the western edge of the city is served by the

Colton Unified School District The Colton Joint Unified School District (CJUSD) in San Bernardino County, California serves the communities of Colton, Bloomington, and Grand Terrace and small portions of Fontana, Rialto and San Bernardino. The District opened in 1872. Hig ...

. Also located in the city are Loma Linda Academy, a K-12 school, and

Loma Linda University Loma Linda University (LLU) is a private Seventh-day Adventist health sciences university in Loma Linda, California. , the university comprises eight schools and a Faculty of Graduate Studies. It is a part of the Seventh-day Adventist educat ...

(LLU), a health-sciences higher-learning institution, both run by the

Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...

. Notable firsts at Loma Linda University's medical center include the first baboon-to-human heart transplant and the first split-brain surgery.

Sister cities

Loma Linda is twinned with Manipal, India, and Libertador San Martin, Argentina, as its sister cities.

In popular culture

Loma Linda University Medical Center is featured in ''Venom ER'', an Animal Planet program focusing on snakebite treatment at the hospital. Former Loma Linda resident and heart surgeon Ellsworth Wareham was featured in the 2009 documentary film ''How to Live Foreve''r.

Seventh-day Adventist influence

Nearly half of the city's residents are members of the

, a Protestant denomination founded in 1863 that observes Sabbath from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday. In 1904, Seventh-day Adventist church guided by the visions of prophet

purchased a failed resort in the city to create a sanitarium and nursing school. In 1909, the church opened a school of medicine that eventually became Loma Linda University Medical Center. The Loma Linda Foods company was founded in Loma Linda in 1905 by the Seventh-day Adventists. Seventh-day Adventist institutions in the city include the

Loma Linda University Church Loma Linda University Church of Seventh-day Adventists is a Seventh-day Adventist church on the Loma Linda University campus in Loma Linda, California, United States. By membership, it is the largest Adventist church in the world, with about 6 ...

and the Loma Linda Academy. Because many members of the Adventist faith are vegetarians, there are many vegetarian options in Loma Linda restaurants and vegetarian restaurants including Vegan Fresh in the downtown area. The Loma Linda Market grocery store does not sell any red meat, poultry, or seafood. The city is a Blue Zone, where residents live longer than average, and this is attributed to the healthy lifestyle of the many Adventist residents in Loma Linda.

Notable people

Baby Fae Stephanie Fae Beauclair (October 14, 1984 – November 15, 1984), better known as Baby Fae, was an American infant born in 1984 with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. She became the first infant subject of a xenotransplant procedure and first s ...

, first infant

xenotransplant Xenotransplantation (''xenos-'' from the Greek meaning "foreign" or strange), or heterologous transplant, is the transplantation of living cells, tissues or organs from one species to another. Such cells, tissues or organs are called xenograft ...

subject *

Brent Mayne Brent Danem Mayne (born April 19, 1968) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1990 to 2004 for the Kansas City Royals, New York Mets, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco G ...

, former catcher for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

and

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...

. * Matthew Modine, actor best known for his role in ''

Full Metal Jacket ''Full Metal Jacket'' is a 1987 war drama film directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Michael Herr and Gustav Hasford. The film is based on Hasford's 1979 novel '' The Short-Timers'' and stars Matt ...

'' *

Don Vesco Don Vesco (April 8, 1939 – December 16, 2002) was an American businessman and motorcycle racer who held multiple motorcycle land-speed and wheel-driven land speed records. In his lifetime, he set 18 motorcycle and 6 automobile speed records. ...

, motorcycle racer in

Motorsports Hall of Fame of America The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is hall of fame that honors motorsports competitors and contributors from the United States from all disciplines, with categories for Open Wheel, Stock Cars, Powerboats, Drag Racing, Motorcycle ...

* Loree Sutton, retired

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

general and candidate in the 2021 New York City Democratic mayoral primary * Ellsworth Wareham, centenarian former surgeon and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

veteran.

References

External links

* {{authority control 1970 establishments in California Blue zones Cities in San Bernardino County, California Incorporated cities and towns in California Populated places established in 1970 Populated places on the Santa Ana River