updated 10/2/23
Prayer Podcasts: for the city; for the officials & SBC Sheriff
Devore Heights, or Devore, is a residential neighborhood located north of the junction of Interstate 15 and Interstate 215, about 12 miles northwest of downtown San Bernardino. It is also the last town to pass through before taking the Cajon Pass to reach Hesperia. The area is just outside the boundaries of the San Bernardino National Forest; Glen Helen Pavilion & Amphitheater, the largest in North America, is located just south of Devore.
Demographics: M: F 51:49%; median age 29; 50% families with children; average income $82K; 13% below poverty; 62% own; 38% rent; 44% married; 43% never married;42% high school grad; 30% some college; 12% college degree; overall crime grade is F [see details below]; 58% white; 39% Hispanic; 1% African American and Asian; est. population [2021] 2,283.
In 1776, Father Garces, a missionary, traveled along the Mohave Indian Trail on foot across the width of San Bernardino County from the Mohave villages on the Colorado River through the valley on his way to Mission San Gabriel. In March of that year, he headed down a ridge between Cable and Devil canyons, crossed the nearby Cajon Creek and passed through what is now Devore.
Near Glen Helen Park [current], the Serrano Indian village noted by Garces during his visit. In 1819, Father Joaquin Pascal Nuez noticed the same village and christened it Santisma Trindad. In 1826, the Mohave Trail offered access to a fur trapping party led by 27-year-old Jedediah Smith passed through the Devore area, much as Garces had done a half century earlier.
In 1847, a US Army group called the Mormon Battalion stayed at “Camp Cajon”. Mormon families camped in the area then Amasa Lyman and Charles Rich, purchased the Rancho San Bernardino. During the 1850s, George Martin and his family established a way station on the old wagon road connecting the San Bernardino Valley and the Mojave Desert. The road ran west of Cajon Creek. “Martin’s Station” was a popular rest stop for weary travelers passing through the Cajon Pass for some 30 years, generally serving as the first stop out from San Bernardino. In 1858, Major William Hoffman, scouted the Mojave Desert for military post sites.
The “modern” era of Devore began in 1902. That year an ambitious and highly successful Chicago businessman by the name of John A. Devore purchased 1,800 acres of land in the mouth of Cajon Canyon with the goal of transforming his acquisition into a real showplace.
In fact, in his obituary of Feb. 15, 1907, The Sun acknowledged that John Devore’s dream had blossomed into promoting the area into a “world-famous resort for tourists.” A San Bernardino Festival of the Arrowhead in May 1908, “Devore Heights is to San Bernardino what Smiley Heights is to Redlands, one of the prize show places of California.”
In 1924, the one-room Cajon School, gave way to a “new” Cajon School. This two-room native rock structure was built across from the old Cajon School, near the corner of Cajon Boulevard and Devore Road. Many of the students had the luxury of riding in a bus driven by Jake Roesch, the eventual founder of Roesch Bus Lines. It stayed in business until Kimbark School took its place in 1969.
“Let's work together."
Location of Devore in SBC
Specific Prayer Points
Spiritual: Intercessors to rise up and pray for this area; for revival to break out; for some Christian organization to host a Revival meeting at the Glen Helen Ampitheater.
Governed by: San Bernardino County 2nd District
Crime issues: [2022] overall crime grade is B, violent crime grade is C+; property crime is B+ and other crime is B-; top issues are vandalism 12% [high] and vehicle theft 6%.
Points of Interest: Glen Helen Amphitheater [a 65,000-capacity amphitheater; largest outdoor music venue in the US. The orchestra, box, and loge sections seat a combined 10,902 people, while the lawn section seats 54,098. Constructed in 1982, when Steve Wozniak & The Unuson Corporation completely redeveloped the land to have a site to put on the 1982 US Festival.] Glen Helen Rehabilitation Center [holds almost 1500 inmates, minimum & maximum security; Glen Helen Raceway
Churches [not exhaustive]
Community church of Devore [Marco Quintana – Pastor]
remaining churches are in San Bernardino, Fontana