Bryn Mawr, California


Bryn Mawr, formerly Nahant, Redlands Junction and West Redlands, is a formerly unincorporated community in San Bernardino County, California, United States, annexed by the city of Loma Linda. As of 2000, its population numbered 213. Bryn Mawr is bordered on the east by Redlands.

History

Originally named Nahant in the 1880s, the community was renamed Redlands Junction after a Southern Pacific Railroad depot was built in the town, accompanying the railroad through nearby San Timoteo Canyon. To avoid being confused with nearby Redlands, the name was replaced with Bryn Mawr, and the depot added a post office in 1895. In the 1900s, the town was prosperous along with the local citrus industry, and four packing houses were built in the area. Before 1902, when the first packing house was built, the rail depot was used to pack citrus. Local amenities included a general store, blacksmith's shop, pool room, service station, market, restaurant and workers' cabins.
The town slowly blended into nearby cities after the citrus industry was no longer an economic force in the area; a post office built in 1971 remains but the train depot was demolished. Parts of the town were incorporated into the city of Loma Linda when it incorporated in 1970, and the remaining area was controversially annexed by the city in 2008 at the suggestion of the county's Local Agency Formation Commission. The area is now mostly a suburban residential neighborhood.

Landmarks

flows through the community, and San Timoteo Canyon is nearby. Bryn Mawr Elementary School, the Loma Linda Broadcasting Network, and a historic Native American mission school and former Catholic church are located in the community, and Barton Villa in neighboring Redlands is just east of the area.
Two parks are located in the neighborhood: Leonard Bailey Park, named after the heart surgeon who operated on Baby Fae at the nearby Loma Linda University Medical Center, and Bryn Mawr Veterans' Memorial Park, built by the city of Loma Linda after the 2008 annexation in order to mollify local residents.