Arnott Farms originated in 1947 under the sole proprietorship of Gailen Arnott. He had recently been discharged from the Army Air Corp at the San Bernardino California Army airfield which soon was to be called Norton Air Force Base. During his stay in the San Bernardino region, Gailen fell in love with the climate and decided to return to the Del Rosa area of San Bernardino with his family. Farming was in Gailen’s blood from being raised on Kansas farms. Soon he was raising white leghorn chickens and producing beautiful, tasty oranges to make a living.
The seedless Navel orange and the summer Valencia orange were well suited to the climate near the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains. Soon however demand exceeded the limited space of Del Rosa so a move was in order.
In 1957 the farming and the family moved to a nearby town that also had an equal reputation for producing sweet juicy navel oranges, Redlands California. The Southern California regions of Redlands, Highland, and Mentone have received high praise for producing the sweetest, tastiest, and juiciest oranges in the world. These have been packed for shipment year after year to far away destinations under some of the most well-known labels.
Over the many years, however, farming in the area had taken a downward turn. Houses now stand where those green orange-producing trees used to grow, leaving only a few left to charm the neighborhood. The Arnott family has continued farming since Gailen’s first orange grove and still retains over 125 acres of citrus in the Mentone and Highland area with over 50 acres of oranges and 75 acres of Ruby Red grapefruit. We hope that you, your friends, and relatives will enjoy our unique one-of-a-kind taste in our oranges, our grapefruit, and other citrus products.