It is named for Phineas Banning, stagecoach line owner and the "Father of the Port of Los Angeles."

Banning shares geographic and regional features with its western neighbor, the city of Beaumont.

Initially named Moore City, by Ransom B. Moore, within only a few months the town was renamed for Phineas Banning, "Father of the Port of Los Angeles", who had pastured sheep in the San Gorgonio Pass area, and operated a stagecoach that ran through the Pass.

The settlement that was to become Banning developed in coincidence with the start of the Colorado River Gold Rush.

The Bradshaw Trail, which passed through the area in 1862, was a wagon road to the gold boomtowns of the Arizona Territory.

Gilman's Ranch, north of downtown, served as a station for the stagecoach lines on this road.

Dorothy Ramon's book Always Believe (published 2000) depicts a Maringayam's views on Banning and reservation life.

Ransom B. Moore operated a large cattle ranch and was later a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, settling in the area and nearby San Gorgonio mountains in the early 1860s.

[7][8] Bishop Francisco Mora y Borrell authorized the school and Mother Katharine Drexel provided funding to the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions for purchase of the land, construction, and operations.

In 1942 the citizens of Banning raised funds for the purchase of an M3 Stuart tank to support the war effort.

The tank, named "City of Johannesburg", is preserved at a local museum in Richmond, Natal Province, South Africa.

[13] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.1 square miles (60 km2), all of it land.

Banning is traversed by the San Andreas Fault which created the pass in which the city is situated.

There were 12,144 housing units at an average density of 525.7 per square mile (203.0/km2), of which 7,412 (68.4%) were owner-occupied, and 3,426 (31.6%) were occupied by renters.

According to the 2010 United States Census, Banning had a median household income of $38,919, with 19.4% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

Currently, each year the event is operated by the non-profit "Stagecoach Days Association", and held at the AC Dysart Equestrian Park in Banning.

[31] Banning has had its own police force since shortly after its 1913 incorporation, and for many years also had a regional station of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department (which has moved eastward to neighboring Cabazon).

Former school: Banning is served by Interstate 10, which connects the city to Los Angeles in the west and the Coachella Valley in the east.

The northern terminus of State Route 243, which runs south to Idyllwild and Mountain Center, is located in the city.

Riverside Transit Agency provides connecting service to Hemet and Moreno Valley.

[36][37][38] Notable burials include Medal of Honor recipient William Powers Morris.