Colton High School opened in 1895. It is one of the oldest high schools in the Inland Empire. In this daily feature, we celebrate Colton High’s rich history.

As Colton looks forward to resuming its regularly scheduled football programming on Friday night against San Bernardino, the community may remember that the beautiful turf at the heart of Memorial Stadium was installed this month back in 2014.

The project, which cost an estimated $500,000, was put into motion to replace a field that had become quite damaged over it ten year life.

Pepper Bough reporter Fidel Elenes considered the cost relative to the community need and reached out to then athletic director Scott Sunderland for context. “The teachers did have their say in where the money was going according to the district’s survey,” Sunderland said. “One of the things surveyed was the general shape of facilities and specifically sports facilities, so some were in for the repair of the sports facilities.”