In writing the novel “Ramona,” which aimed to put a humanizing face on the plight of the California Indian, Helen Hunt Jackson called upon her experiences traveling throughout Southern California.
One of her many stops was in San Jacinto, where she met locals and heard stories of injustice toward local Indians. When “Ramona” was published and became popularized in song, motion picture, and outdoor play, the citizens of San Jacinto memorialized two city residents associated with the book in downtown street names.
The first of these is Sheriff Boulevard, running north-south just one block east of San Jacinto Avenue. Sheriff Boulevard takes its name from Mary Sheriff, the first U.S. government-sponsored school teacher at Soboba. Opening in 1880, the school at Soboba was unique, and said to be the first in all of Southern California.
Mary Sheriff taught there for seven years in a small 11 x 18 foot adobe structure that had as many as 40 students at a time. Her importance to “Ramona,” though, is in her long-time friendship and correspondence with Helen Hunt Jackson. Jackson got many details from Sheriff about the murder of the Indian Juan Diego in 1883.
Juan Diego, considered a fine sheep shearer, stole the horse of teamster Sam Temple from a corral in San Jacinto and rode it to his home in the mountains. Temple followed the next day, heavily armed, and shot Juan Diego at least twice in front of his wife. He turned himself in to authorities in San Jacinto, claiming self-defense, and was acquitted within a few days.
This murder, deemed “justifiable homicide” by a hastily-convened court, outraged many Indian activists, and compelled Jackson to further investigate the condition of the Southern California Indians. Sheriff and Jackson remained good friends until Jackson’s death in 1885.
Emmaline Jordan was the other San Jacinto resident to be affiliated with “Ramona” and have a street named for her.
Jordan Avenue lies one block east of Sheriff Boulevard. Jordan, her husband Joseph, and Henry Hewitt ran the store/hotel/post office in San Jacinto in the late 1870s and 1880s, with Emmaline Jordan managing the hotel and maintaining the dining room.
According to the San Jacinto Register, she was “a well-known Indian sympathizer,” and may have given Jackson some of the information she used for “Ramona.” However, it is how Emmaline Jordan parlayed this association with Jackson into fame for herself that made her the star that she was.
As early as 1899, she identified herself as the basis for Aunt Ri in the novel. Throughout the ensuing years, Emmaline Jordan continued to define herself this way, enjoying having her picture taken (probably for a small fee), and basking in her own notoriety that came about with the popularity of “Ramona.”
According to “Ramona” historian Phil Brigandi, there is little to identify Emmaline Jordan with Aunt Ri beyond her concern for Indians, but that certainly didn’t stop her from accepting her new-found fame.
The story of “Ramona” continues to play an important role in Southern California. Many places, such as Riverside’s Ramona High School and Alessandro Boulevard, maintain the names of the more famous characters in the novel. But Sheriff Boulevard and Jordan Avenue remind us of some of the people behind the story whose efforts were well worth recording.
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