Introduction to Victorville, California
The California city of Victorville is located at the southern edge of the Mojave Desert in the Victor Valley of western San Bernardino County. The city is situated 82 miles northeast of Los Angeles, and is surrounded by the nearby communities of Adelanto, Apple Valley and Hesperia. Victorville is serviced principally by Interstate I-15 and California State Highway 18 with U.S. Route 395 located nearby.
Victorville History
The community known as Victor was established in the late 19th century and named after Jacob Nash Victor, a construction superintendent for the California Southern Railroad. Primarily an agricultural community at that time, the area soon developed a burgeoning cement manufacturing industry due to the discovery of large deposits of limestone and granite in the region. In 1901, the community's name was changed by the U.S. Post Office to Victorville owing to confusion with the community of Victor, Colorado. The year 1926 saw the establishment of U.S. Route 66, a major national transportation artery linking Chicago, Illinois with California. A portion of this highway bisected Victorville and provided the community with a significant transportation corridor which lasted until Interstate I-15 was constructed. In 1962 the community of Victorville was incorporated as a city.
Victorville Events and Attractions
Victorville residents and visitors to the city can take advantage of a wide variety of activities at nearby sites, including mountain skiing, water sports and access to the vast array of attractions in Southern California and the city of Las Vegas. Closer to home, Victorville boasts the California Route 66 Museum, a repository of artifacts and photographs chronicling the history of the storied national highway and the communities it served. Also in Victorville is the Fire Museum, housing a collection of fire fighting equipment and memorabilia including exhibits dating from the 1930s which depict the history of the Victorville Fire Department. A celebrated spring event in Victorville is the San Bernardino County Fair, a festival replete with carnival rides, celebrity concerts, livestock competitions and much more. Arts and entertainment can be found in the city's Performing Arts Center, which offers a wide variety of concerts, plays and musicals. Sports fans can root for the High Desert Mavericks, a Class Triple-A minor league baseball team affiliated with Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners.