F.A.Q.
Founded in 2014, by three cousins, Nancy Melendez, Suzanne Armas and Darlene Trujillo-Elliot. In 2013, Lenny Trujillo hosted an event at the Agua Mansa Cemetery, where the three cousins came together to ensure the protection of the Trujillo Adobe.
Spanish Town Heritage Foundation Non Profit is a 501(c)3 – #46-3936161
The Spanish Town Heritage Foundation champions the Hispanic Legacy of the Inland Empire’s first settlers by sharing their stories, creating cultural learning opportunities, and leading community efforts to restore and revitalize La Placita de los Trujillos, a place of history, learning, entertainment and the arts.
The settlement was known by many names, Agua Mansa, La Placita de los Trujillos, San Salvador and Spanish Town. At the time California was just formed and the area was under Los Angeles County. Eventually it would become San Bernardino County and then Riverside County. The area was former settlement and the earliest community established.
The communities of Agua Mansa and La Placita, across from each other along the Santa Ana River, were the first non-native settlements in the San Bernardino Valley and had the first church and school. These villages were the largest settlement between New Mexico, and Los Angeles during the 1840s. Today, the Agua Mansa Pioneer Cemetery is all that remains of these once- thriving communities.
On September 22, 1838, Juan Manuel Lorenzo Trujillo (1794-1855) led an advance party over the Old Spanish Trail from New Mexico to California. This expedition changed not only the lives of their children but also the lives of everyone who participated in this journey, their descendants and those fortunate enough to live or work in La Placita de los Trujillos. To help study, preserve and protect, interpret and educate, and promote respectful use of the Old Spanish National Historic Trail and closely related historic routes, an OSTA Inland Empire chapter, called the Agua Mansa chapter, was established in November 2016.
The communities of Agua Mansa and La Placita, across from each other along the Santa Ana River, were the first non-native settlements in the San Bernardino Valley and had the first church and school. These villages were the largest settlement between New Mexico, and Los Angeles during the 1840s. Today, the Agua Mansa Pioneer Cemetery is all that remains of these once- thriving communities.