Kaiser built a large steel mill in the area. It is now a regional hub of the trucking industry, with the eastβwest Interstate 10 and State Route crossing the city and Interstate 15 passing diagonally through its northwestern quadrant. The city is about 46 miles 74 km east of Los Angeles. The United States Census Bureau reported that Fontana's population was ,, making it the second-most-populous city in San Bernardino County and the 20th largest in the state.
Native Americans inhabited the area. Fontana, formerly Rosena from to , [ 15 ] [ 16 ] was founded in by Azariel Blanchard Miller. Within a few years, it became an agricultural town of citrus orchards, vineyards and chicken ranches and astride U. Route 66 now known as Foothill Boulevard.
Kaiser built the Kaiser Steel plant just outside the city limits. To provide for the plant workers' health needs, Henry J. Kaiser constructed the Fontana Kaiser Permanente medical facility, now the largest managed care organization in the United States. In the s and s, Fontana was home to a drag racing strip that was a venue in the NHRA circuit.
Ro-Val's automobile museum, located on Foothill Boulevard on the western outskirts between Fontana and Cucamonga, was the home for many classic automobiles of the s and s, including a huge vehicle once owned by screen actor Fatty Arbuckle. When the Ro-Val museum closed, the vehicles were sold to Bill Harrah , a Nevada casino owner and automobile collector, who placed them on display in the museum located at his casino.
In , the city had a total population of ,; by , the city had , residents. This rapid growth was largely due to the numerous large, new residential developments built in the sparsely populated northern part of the city, as well as with the city's aggressive and highly successful campaign to annex several unincorporated, but developed, San Bernardino County areas in β In , the California Air Resources Board advised the City against housing people within 1, feet of industrial warehouses because of harmful truck pollution.
