Isaac V. Gilbert located in Riverside in 1881, seeking a desirable place of residence and safe investment of his capital. He purchased seven acres of land on Jurupa Avenue, in Brockton Square, from E. W. Holmes. Upon this tract he erected a substantial cottage residence, suitable outbuildings, etc., and also added beauty and comfort to his home by laying out roads, walks and lawns, and planting ornamental trees and floral plants. He has produced a beautiful and worthy specimen of a California home. His orange grove, of three and one-half acres, is composed mostly of seedling trees, about seven-teen years of age. They are some of the finest to be found in that section, and give a yield of $450 per acre, under the intelligent care and fertilization he has given them. He has also a large variety of deciduous fruits, such as apples, quince, peach, prune, plum, etc., and also a large variety of table grapes. He has made his home a model of beauty and productiveness. In 1885 Mr. Gilbert and others projected the establishment of a national bank in Riverside, and was one of the original incorporators of one of the soundest banking institutions in San Bernardino County. He was its first president and held that position for three years. Since then he has been on the board of directors, and auditor of the bank. He is a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Arlington and Treasurer of the same. In politics he is a Republican, and has taken a high stand in the financial and social circles of Riverside, and gained the respect and esteem of his associates.
Mr. Gilbert was born in Troy, New York, in 1826. When eleven years of age his parents moved to Illinois and located in Knox County. His father, Charles Gilbert, was a native of Hartford, Connecticut, and previous to settling in the West had been engaged in mercantile pursuits. There he engaged in farming, and Isaac was reared to that calling upon his father’s farm, near Galesburg. He received a good education, closing his studies by a term in Knox College. Mr. Gilbert spent his life, previous to coming to California, in agricultural pursuits in Illinois, and was very successful in his enterprise. In 1848 he wedded Miss Hannah Brown, a native of New Jersey. The three children from this marriage are: Mary, now Mrs. Orland Chandler, of San Bernardino; Sarah E., now Mrs. C. O. Perine, of Riverside, and Mattie, who married Alonzo D. Haight, a fruit packer and shipper of Redlands, San Bernardino County.
