During the early 1850s many surveying parties passed through the vicinity of present-day Beaumont in search of a pass that would connect the east to the Pacific Ocean. The San Gorgonio Pass was discovered in 1853 by a surveying expedition under Lieutenant R.S. Williamson, who was sent by the United States government. Its discovery enthralled many who now saw connecting to the ocean a feasible measure and led to plans for connecting a railway from the Missouri River to the Pacific. By the early 1860s the Union Pacific Railroad had laid tracks through the modern-day location of Beaumont. At the summit of the pass, a site was founded and named Edgar Station after a physician from one of the original expedition parties. Edgar Station served as a rest stop for railway travellers from the Mojave Desert on their way to the Los Angeles vicinity. Soon Edgar Station changed its name to San Gorgonio, named by a real estate development company, and it gradually attracted permanent residents.
The sleepy town of San Gorgonio became recognized as an incorporated California city on November 18, 1912 and adopted its current name of Beaumont (French for "beautiful mountain"). As of 1927 the town boasted a small population of 857 with five churches, a public library, a bank, a high school, two local newspapers, several lumber yards, commercial packing houses, and a dehydrating plant. The city was dubbed "the land of the big red apple" by local residents in its early years, being one of Riverside County's largest apple growers. Apple plantation in and around the town expanded a $200,000 industry by 1930. Beaumont saw a rise in visitors and residents as the little-known nearby city of Palm Springs to the east grew to become a highly popular resort spot in the 1930s and beyond; thus Beaumont followed suit and attempted to capitalize on the tourism by establishing guest ranches. According to an early 1930s/1940s postcard, the Highland Springs Guest Ranch of Beaumont offered its patrons horseback riding, tennis, archery, horseshoes, swimming, shuffle-board, ping pong, baseball, ballroom dancing, massage, basketball, as well as a place to spend the night.
During the Cold War, a Lockheed rocket test site was established just to the south, outside of the town, until it was sold in January of 2004. The site's use of toxic chemicals has contaminated the water of local streams, hurting efforts to establish a wildlife preserve of nearby scenic canyons. With the housing boom in the early decade, the urban sprawl reached the last remaining valleys of the Inland Empire. With Beaumont's close proximity to Los Angeles, various Southern California residents flocked to the San Gorgonio Pass region for its low housing cost, causing a 20% jump in the city's population, making it the fastest growing city in the State.[1] This has concerned many local residents, who cite increasing student population in schools, rising demand on the water supply and increasing traffic in and out of the city on Interstate 10 in both directions. The 1995 movie "How to Make an American Quilt" filmed many of its driving scenes through Beaumont. Local wildlife in the surrounding vicinity include quails, coyotes, and foxes. Today the town is home to many antique store establishments dating back several decades, including the Nettie and Alice Museum of Hobbies and the modern-day Beaumont Antique Mall.There is also a new Wal-Mart Supercenter, a Lowe's Home Improvement Center, while coming soon(or already open) are: Applebee's, Panda Express, and a Barnes and Noble Bookstore.
The California Highway Patrol has a regional office on the Beaumont side of Highland Springs Avenue(its jurisdiction goes from Calimesa to the west to Desert Hot Springs to the east, as well as Hemet and San Jacinto to the south}. Beaumont has its own police force, but recently dissolved its fire department(as did neighboring Banning) and now contracts with Cal-Fire(California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection). Local historical society
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