Torojoatngna ("the place below Joat" or "the place below snowy mountain")[2] was a Tongva village located in what is now Claremont, California. The name of the village referred the place below Mount San Antonio as the place of snow.[2] Archaeological investigations in the Claremont area have found evidence of village artifacts near the "Indian Hill" area of the city, located near the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Gardens.[2][3][4]

An early twentieth century map showing the former Tongva village called "Indian Hill" (top right).[1]

History

edit

The Tongva had established villages in the area as early as 7000 B.C.[1]

The land came under the influence of Spanish colonizers with the establishment and growth of Mission San Gabriel in 1771.[1]

The First Mexican Republic secularized the missions in 1833, dissolving its lands into ranchos. Rancho San Jose was established in the area by 1837.[1]

In 1870, the village was still active with over 200 residents, many of whom worked at local ranchos such as Spadra and Puente to survive.[1] In 1873 however a smallpox outbreak ravaged the village and by 1883 it was noted that it had been abandoned.[1]

The village site was recorded on a map published in the early twentieth century.[1]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d e f g Landsberg, Eva; Stanley, Sean; Claremont Heritage (2014). Claremont. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 14–15. ISBN 978-1-4671-3191-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  2. ^ a b c "Pamona Timeline". pamona.edu. 2020-09-15. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  3. ^ "Native Hosts California / Today your Host Is / Torojoatngna". www.getty.edu. 2012. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  4. ^ "Tongva's history retraced". Daily Breeze. 2010-08-22. Retrieved 2022-12-16.

34°06′42″N 117°43′00″W / 34.1117°N 117.7168°W / 34.1117; -117.7168