Ontario highlight
Historic citrus / irrigation colony heritage
Established in 1886 by the Chaffey brothers as an innovative irrigation colony and model agricultural community, Ontario pioneered water management and agricultural advancement, with the Graber Olive House, founded in 1894, remaining the longest-operating olive packing business in the United States.
Ontario's origins trace to 1886 when George and William Chaffey, visionary engineers, established Ontario as one of three innovative irrigation colonies in Southern California. The brothers had pioneered solutions to the region's most pressing challenges: reliably delivering mountain water to desert farmland and settling disputes over water rights through mutual water companies. Ontario was built from the start as a model colony combining infrastructure, agriculture, education, and community planning. George Chaffey even applied his hydroelectric innovation—developed at their Etiwanda colony—to Los Angeles, where his electrical systems powered the city's first streetlights.
Agriculture became Ontario's defining industry, centered on citrus cultivation and enabled by the Chaffey brothers' irrigation systems. The Graber Olive House, established in 1894 by Clifford C. Graber, became an enduring symbol of this agricultural legacy and remains the longest-operating olive packing business in the United States, with operations continuing for over 130 years. The Graber family property and historic district stand as testimony to Ontario's role in California's agricultural history. The city's street names, historic buildings, and the continued presence of agricultural heritage sites preserve the memory of the settlers who transformed dry land into productive farmland.
That agricultural foundation built Ontario's prosperity and the households that grew here. Today, working families in Ontario carry forward that same pioneer sensibility: investing in property, building businesses, and planning for the next generation. A term life policy—whether for 20 years to cover a mortgage or 30 years to see children through independence—aligns with the same forward-thinking approach that turned desert into colony. The monthly cost is low when you are young, and the certainty it provides to the people you name is the practical expression of that commitment.