"Tempering their speculative instincts with love of home,
they developed their surroundings with rare beauty and comfort and made them the centers of high social and intellectual life."
~ William E. Smythe
(commenting on the first citizens of Ontario)

The founder of the first model colony in California, George Chaffey, came to Ontario for a vacation in 1880 and was so impressed by the beauty of the land he never left. A visionary developer and expert in irrigation engineering, Chaffey believed that with proper irrigation, the arid land he found could not only provide an excellent living for many people, but great agricultural wealth. Through a community effort, fresh spring water wells were brought to Ontario, and Chaffey's dream of a new Eden came true.

With the successful transformation of the land came the development of the first model community in California. Downtown Ontario is an homage to charming European design and was carefully planned to foster a close-knit community through a beautiful town square where citizens enjoy easy access to modern conveniences.

A master planner, Chaffey understood the genius of simplicity and designed the community with this as his guiding principle-a practice that is upheld by city leaders and developers today.

The first homes of Ontario celebrated the beauty of traditional design and featured Victorian and Spanish architecture. Many of these historic homes have been preserved to this very day and their fine craftsmanship and glorious details serve as the inspiration for Edenglen, the first community in Ontario's New Model Colony.