Robidoux, Louis, 1796-1868

Louis Robidoux was born in Missouri in 1796. In 1833 he moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he ran a tannery and iron works and was also active in fur trading and freighting. In the 1840s, Robidoux went to California, purchasing the Jurupa Rancho and San Timoteo Rancho in Redlands, California, in 1843. He was captured at the Battle of Chino in 1846 and in 1848 joined the gold rush and departed for Northern California. After his return to Redlands, Robidoux became the first chairman of the San Bernadino County Board of Supervisors, as well as a county judge. He died in 1868 and is buried in the Agua Mansa Cemetery in Colton, California.