The area, up to the mid-19th century, was inhabited by the Cahuilla people. In 1824 it became part of the Mission San Gabriel Arcangel, and then the Rancho San Gorgonio. The first Anglo to settle in the area was Dr. Isaac Smith in 1853. In 1863 a smallpox epidemic further diminished the Cahuilla. The government created Indian reservations for the Cahuilla in 1877.
The first stagecoach line came through in 1862, and the railroad followed in 1876. U.S. Route 99 was built in 1923, followed by U.S. Route 60/70 in 1936, and subsequently Interstate 10. The Southern Pacific (later purchased by Union Pacific) railroad, laid down in 1881, was a major contributor to the area's growth. Banning borders the Morongo Indian Reservation. The region around Banning was originally Maringayam (Serrano), and the Cahuilla expanded into the pass only in historic times. Relations with reservation residents have been stressed by such actions as disputes over water rights. See Dorothy Ramon's book (published 2000) "Always Believe" for a Maringayam's views on Banning and reservation life.
Banning is named after famed L.A. entrepreneur Phinneas Banning, yet he never set foot in the city, nor anywhere in the San Gorgonio Pass area.
The early western poet and author Henry Herbert Knibbs lived his last years in Banning
From the City of Banning, CA website.
