Communities Have Histories

Why is learning about the past important?

Lesson 4

HistoryHistory is the story

of what has happened in a place.

Yuma’s history started hundreds of years ago with Native Americans.

Knowing a community’s history can help you understand the community today.

Quechan IndiansThe Quechan

Indians were the first people to live in Yuma.

They farmed land along the Colorado River.

They also lived in southern California.

They were part of a larger group of Indians called the Yumas.

AncestorAn ancestor is

someone in a person’s family, such as a great-great-grandparent, who lived a long time ago.

Juan Bautista de Anza Juan Bautista de

Anza was an explorer from Spain who was looking for a way to cross the Colorado River into California.

The Colorado River The Colorado River

was wide and rough. The Quechan

Indians helped Anza and his men cross the river.

Missionary A missionary is a person

who is sent to tell others about his or her church.

The Spanish missionaries tried to make the Quechan Indians change what they believed. The Quechan Indians turned against the missionaries and made them leave.

Fort YumaIn 1850 U.S. soldiers

built a fort across the river from Yuma.

Many people travelled through Yuma on their way to look for gold in California.

AnglosAnglos are white

Americans whose ancestors are not Spanish.

Many people gave up looking for gold in California so they stayed in Yuma. The Spanish people of Yuma called these people Anglos.

Chinese workersChinese workers

moved to Yuma to help build the railroads.

Changes in YumaThe name of Yuma

has changed three times. First it was Colorado City, then it was Arizona City, then it was Yuma.

Yuma used to have just a few buildings. Now it is a modern city.

BiographyA biography is the

story of a real person’s life.

Reading a biography can help you understand a person.

Cesar ChavezCesar Chavez was born

on a farm in Yuma. His parents lost their

farm when he was young.He harvested crops with

his family in Arizona and California. He saw that farm workers were not treated fairly.

He spent his life working for fair treatment of all farm workers.

Time Line A time line shows

when important events took place.

A time line helps keep the dates of important events in order.

You read time lines from left to right, just like a sentence.