Calimesa got its name because neighbors wanted a post office

Calimesa’s name has a neighborly origin. The area was once known as the South Bench, one of the mesa-like parts of the wider Yucaipa Valley. Older routes crossed nearby, including a stagecoach trail that came from Redlands through San Timoteo and Singleton Canyon.

By 1929, only about 40 to 50 families lived in the South Bench area, but they wanted their own post office. To get one, they needed a name that did not already conflict with another post office name.

About 125 people met in a garage on what is now Calimesa Boulevard. Residents submitted 107 possible names. The winner was “Calimesa,” built from “Cali” for California and “mesa” for tableland.

The first post office opened in Bill Bailey’s grocery store at Calimesa Boulevard and Avenue K. That small detail says a lot. Calimesa did not begin with a giant civic plan. It grew from ranch land, roads, a few dozen families, and a practical wish to have a place name of its own.