[7] In 1774, Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza established an overland route from Arizona to California, with part of the trail passing through present day Upland on the way to the San Gabriel Mission.

[9] In 1775, Anza led a second expedition consisting of more than 240 people on a journey of over two thousand miles to the San Francisco Bay.

[10] Five years later, in 1781, Spanish settlers followed Anza's route to found the city of Los Angeles a few miles west of the San Gabriel Mission.

In 1810, a party of missionaries, soldiers, and Native Americans from San Gabriel mission, under the leadership of Padre Dumetz, were sent out to select a location.

The expedition named the area around Upland "Cucamonga," which in the Tongvan language meant "sand place.

"[12] Jedediah Smith of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company was the first American to enter California overland.

Their course was down the Colorado River to the Mojave, where they found two Native Americans, who guided them across the desert to San Gabriel Mission.

[14] In 1829, Mexican explorer Antonio Armijo led the first successful caravan from Santa Fe to Southern California, joining up with Smith's route to open what would later be called the Old Spanish Trail.

The trail carried mule-trains over the Cajon Pass, then west through Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, and El Monte, to the region's major settlements at Mission San Gabriel and Los Angeles.

The Cucamonga Rancho changed hands several times, but the area that present-day Upland occupies was little more than an uninhabited ranchland and a place to pass through until the arrival of George Chaffey in 1882.

[19] In 1882, Chaffey purchased 6,216 acres (25.16 km2) of land in the Cucamonga Rancho, along with significant water rights from San Antonio Creek, for $60,000.

[19] To ensure the success of this irrigation plan and to appeal to potential land buyers, the Chaffey created a "mutual water company" in which each landowner became a stockholder.

Long-time resident Charles D. Adams, organizer and first elected president of the Association, was credited with choosing the name.

In 1887 the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe completed its connection adjacent to the newly founded Magnolia Tract in North Ontario.

Subdividers of Magnolia, the Bedford Brothers, announced plans to erect a depot at the foot of Second Avenue, the primary business street.

Used for commuting of residents and tourists as well as for freight, the railroad linked Upland to Los Angeles to the west and the rest of the Santa Fe network to the east.

The area of land that Ontario wanted included the Upland Post Office, the tracks for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, and the train depot.

On March 12, 1906, the San Bernardino Board of Supervisors conducted a two-day hearing and agreed that a vote for incorporation should take place.

In 1913, the first serious fire to occur in the new community destroyed all the businesses on the east side of Second Avenue south of Ninth Street.

In Upland, the national highway ran along Foothill Boulevard, which had been built on the route established by the early Spanish explorers.

[31] The trolley was pulled from Ontario to Upland by a mule, which then climbed aboard an attached trailer for the ride back down.

[34] The freeway, one of the first in the nation, eased the commute to Los Angeles and accelerated the transition of Upland from a rural citrus area to a residential and commercial community.

Upland is bordered on the east by Rancho Cucamonga, to the south by Ontario and Montclair, to the west by Claremont, and to the north by the unincorporated community of San Antonio Heights.

The festival celebrates the city's citrus industry and includes the Lemon Idol vocal contest, food competitions, and carnival rides.

[52] On Saturday May 19, 2012, Mayor Ray Musser acknowledged local Stan Hoffman, the owner of the now defunct Pipeline Skatepark, by giving him a lifetime achievement for his contribution to the skate culture.

[53] In 1929, the Daughters of the American Revolution placed a Madonna of the Trail statue in Upland at the intersection of Foothill Boulevard and Euclid Avenue.

[55] One of the inscriptions on the base of the Madonna of the Trail statue notes that, in 1826, Jedediah Smith passed through what later became Upland, leading a band of 16 trappers in an expedition that marked the first American entry into California over land.

Upland has two sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International: Upland is mentioned in the 2008 Keanu Reeves film Street Kings as the home of LAPD Internal Affairs Captain James Biggs (played by Hugh Laurie).

The series is a spin-off of the YouTube channel of dermatologist Sandra Lee, who became a major Internet celebrity after posting videos of her procedures.

The primary location for both the TV series and YouTube videos is Skin Physicians & Surgeons, a clinic operated by Lee and her dermatologist husband Jeffrey Rebish.