About the San Bernardino County Museum
The San Bernardino County Museum is the regional history and natural-science museum for the largest county by area in the contiguous United States. It began in 1952 as a private, community-supported museum, opened to the public in 1957, and was deeded to the county in 1961. In 1974 it left its first home in Bloomington for a purpose-built facility at 2024 Orange Tree Lane in Redlands, a milestone it marked in 2024 with the exhibition "Holding History: 50 Years in Redlands."
Today the museum is a department of county government, led by a director with a staff of about 23 who report through the County Administrative Office to the Board of Supervisors. Exhibits at Redlands interpret the history, anthropology, and natural science of the Inland Empire and the deserts and mountains beyond, and the museum notes that it stands on the ancestral lands of the Maara'yam, the Serrano people. Public programs include field trips and school tours, a STEAM Lab for Kids, and Quiet Hour sessions for visitors who need a lower-sensory setting.
Branch Sites Across the County
The Redlands building anchors a network of six branch and historic sites. The Victor Valley Museum at 11873 Apple Valley Road in Apple Valley (Wednesday-Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) serves the High Desert. The María Merced Williams and John Rains House, 8810 Hemlock Street, Rancho Cucamonga, is open Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Agua Mansa Pioneer Cemetery, 2001 Agua Mansa Road, Colton, is open Sunday-Thursday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Oro Grande Cemetery at 15277 Olive Street is shown by appointment. The Yorba and Slaughter Families Adobe in Chino and the Yucaipa Adobe are temporarily closed.
Collections and Research Services
For researchers the most useful entry point is the museum's online Collections Database, an Argus portal reached from the "Collections Access" link on the website. It can be searched by keyword across the history, anthropology, and natural-history holdings; the museum's own suggested searches (basket, nest, photograph, sabertooth) give a sense of the range. To order a reproduction of a photograph or document, email the museum with the object ID number, or save items to a favorites list and submit a request through the portal; staff ask for three to five business days to reply. The museum does not publish a walk-in research-library schedule, so anyone hoping to examine original photographs or archives in person should write ahead. For the records a house or family historian in the Inland Empire usually needs first, see our guides to finding old photos of a house or neighborhood and dating a house.
Planning Your Visit
The main museum at 2024 Orange Tree Lane, Redlands, CA 92374 (phone 909-798-8608) is open Tuesday through Sunday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and closed Mondays, all county holidays, and Easter Sunday. Admission is $12 for adults; $9 for seniors 60 and over, students, and military with ID; $5 for youth ages 6 to 12; free for children 5 and under and for members; and $1 per person for Museums for All participants with an EBT card. Parking is free and the building is accessible to visitors with disabilities. Current exhibitions and branch-site hours are posted at museum.sbcounty.gov. Elsewhere in Southern California, the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles and the Escondido History Center in San Diego County are also profiled on this site.
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