Named in 1916 for Valley pioneer Carl Robert Rinaldi (1834-1908) and his family. Our subject, whose real name was allegedly Carel Roberto Rinaldi, was born in Berlin to an Italian father and a German (Hungarian?) mother. He came to America in 1856 and settled in Los Angeles three years later. In 1869, Rinaldi married local girl Francisca Valdez (1844-1921). This was shortly after he’d established a furniture and upholstery store with fellow Teuton John Charles Dotter; business was so good that Rinaldi cashed out in 1872 – he sold his share to future town builder Isaac W. Lord – and moved his family up to the SFV, setting up a 151 acre farm near today’s Van Norman Reservoir. Here the Rinaldis would raise one daughter and five sons (a sixth died in childhood) while growing oranges, grapes, and above all olives: Rinaldi claimed to have 3,000 olive trees in 1893 and was considered a local expert. He also served as a constable and, later, school trustee.
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