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Sep 26, 20236 min read

Ontario

updated 9/28/23

Prayer Podcasts: for the city | for the officials


Location: the county's fourth most populous city after San Bernardino, Fontana, and Rancho Cucamonga. The city is home to the LA/Ontario International Airport which is the 15th busiest cargo airport in the United States. Ontario handles the mass of freight traffic between the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and the rest of the country. It is also the home of Ontario Mills and former home of the Ontario Motor Speedway. It takes its name from the Ontario Model Colony development established in 1882 by the Canadian engineer George Chaffey and his brothers William Chaffey and Charles Chaffey. They named the settlement after their home province of Ontario, Canada. Nearby cities include Norco, Walnut, Diamond Bar, Fontana, Glendora.


Mission Statement

Founded as a Model Colony, based on innovation, planned development, community service and family values, the City of Ontario has become the economic heart of the region. The City Council is committed to maintaining Ontario's leadership role in the Inland Empire by continuing to invest in the growth and evolution of the area's economy while providing a balance of jobs, housing, and educational and recreational opportunities for our residents in a safe, well-maintained community.


Demographics: est. population (2022) 182,069; largest universities are University of Phoenix-California , DeVry University-California and American Career College-Ontario; median property $375K; homeowners 53.6%; most drove alone to work; average commute time 30.4 minutes; average car ownership 2 cars per household; 70% Hispanic; 15% White; 6% Black; 6% Asian; 1% American Indian; 4,237 veterans [1595 Vietnam, 178 WWII; 1387 Gulf Wars][; 27% foreign born; 76% high school grad; 18% degrees; 84% US citizens; Median household income iis $65,04.



In 1881 George Chaffey, a Canadian engineer, viewed the area known as the Cucamonga Desert and decided this land "San Antonio lands," could become productive with the water rights. He expanded the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks on the south and discovered the region was a great source of water. Ontario Colony lands went on sale in 1882. The centerpiece was Euclid Avenue, eight miles long and two hundred feet wide, the twin "driveways" separated by a parkway which was seeded in grass and lined with pepper trees. George named Euclid Avenue after the great Greek mathematician whose book Elements of Geometry had been a favorite subject for George in school.


To use the land, water had to be found and brought to the town. Chaffey laid miles of cement pipe for this purpose and later the San Antonio Water Co. drove a tunnel into the head of the canyon to tap the underground flow; electric power to lift water from deep wells led to the establishment of the Ontario Power Co. The Chaffey brothers went off to Australia to attempt a repeat performance of their success as city planners here. Then Charles Frankish became the next guiding force. In 1887, Ontario’s unique "gravity mule car," which served until 1895, when it was replaced by an electric streetcar.


In 1891, Ontario was incorporated and was first developed as an agricultural community, largely due to the citrus trees. Chaffey College, which was located where the Chaffey brothers put it until 1960, originally emphasized agricultural subjects to give the growers a hand. It was there that Prof. George Weldon developed the Babcock peach, an adaptation to California’s mild winters. The college moved to Rancho Cucamonga now, but Chaffey High School is still on what was originally a joint campus. The groves moved to the West End which included oranges, peaches, walnuts, lemons and grapes.


In 1923, Judge Archie Mitchell, Waldo Waterman, and some other airplane enthusiasts established Latimer Field. From that time on, the town became increasingly aviation conscious. Urban growth pushed the fliers progressively east, until they took up their present location, the Ontario International Airport. During World War II, this was a busy training center for pilots of the hot Lockheed P-38 "Lightning" twin-boom fighter.

Since World War II, Ontario has become a much more diversified community. The mean temperature of 61 degrees and the average rainfall of 18.4" continues to attract more residents. The city has expanded from the 0.38 square mile area incorporated back in 1891, up to almost 50 square miles. The economy now reflects an industrial and manufacturing base. Ten thousand acres are zoned for industrial use. With three major railroads, the San Bernardino, Pomona, and Devore Freeways (10, 60, and 15), and the Ontario International Airport. Ontario is well provided with major transportation resources. Its proximity to Los Angeles ensures that Ontario will continue to grow in the years ahead.


Ontario’s official song is "Beautiful Ontario," written by Paul Coronel in 1960. The official flower is the Charlotte Armstrong rose, developed by local nurseryman John Armstrong and named for his first wife. At different times, Ontario has adopted as its slogan or motto each of the following: The Model Colony; The Model City; The City That Charms; Ontario Offers Opportunity; Pulse of the Inland Empire; Stop and Grow with Ontario; Gateway to the Inland Empire; A Balanced Community; The Gateway to Southern California; and Southern California's Next Urban Center.

“A sustained, community-wide prosperity which continuously adds value and yields benefits."


Location of Ontario in SBC



Specific Prayer Points

  • Economy: Ontario International Airport; The economy of Ontario, CA employs 85.9k people. Largest are Retail Trade (11,008 people), Manufacturing (9,991 people), and Health Care & Social Assistance (9,019 people), and the highest paying industries are Mining, Quarrying, & Oil & Gas Extraction ($85,917), Public Administration ($58,259), and Utilities ($52,429).The most common jobs held by residents of Ontario, CA, by number of employees, are Office & Administrative Support Occupations (12,006 people), Sales & Related Occupations (8,819 people), and Material Moving Occupations (7,884 people). Ontario has an unusually high number of residents working as Material Moving Occupations (2.47 times higher than expected), Transportation Occupations (1.65 times), and Production Occupations (1.52 times).

  • Government: Current City Council & 4th District of SBC

  • School district: Chaffey Joint Union High school district and Ontario-Montclair School district

  • Christian schools: [not exhaustive] Ontario Christian elementary & high; San Antonio Christian; Vision Bible College; Redeemer Lutheran; Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary; ABC; Iglesia Universal; Iglesia del Cuerpo de Cristo; Iglesia Instruction Cristo Te Ama; First Christian church; New Creation Christian Fe; BCC Life Changing.

  • Crime grade: [2022] A crime occurs every 1 hour (on average) in Ontario. Overall is C-; violent is C; property is D+; other is C; top issues are 13% drug crimes; theft 12%; 7% vandalism; 6% vehicle theft.

  • Poverty 6.2%: [CA Avg 15%] One out of every 6.2 residents of Ontario lives in poverty.

  • Spiritual: Intercessors arise and claim this land for the Lord; Christians unite in prayer at their churches and community events and schools to pray for the lost to come to Christ; for boldness to share their faith with signs and wonders that follow [Acts 4:23-31] no matter what persecution might be experienced; believers rise up with a hunger for the Word and a thirst for the Holy Spirit; quick repentance; freedom from addictions; deliverance from drug issues; unity in the families; boundaries for cell phone usage; church leaders preach with passion that leads people to repentance and the gospel transforms lives; awaken the older believers; return them to their first love and revive those who are lukewarm; reformation because of lives changed.

Churches & Ministries [not exhaustive]




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