Patterson Trans Inc. delivers refrigerated freight, full truckload (FTL), less-than-truckload (LTL), and cross-docking services to businesses throughout Highland, California, a historic citrus community and a close neighbor to our Fontana headquarters. With over 25 years of refrigerated transport experience and 60 years of combined team experience, our family-owned team keeps temperature-sensitive freight moving safely through this growing Inland Empire market.
Small-Town Reliability for Highland’s Local Businesses
Highland has stayed closer to its citrus-town roots than many of its neighbors, and the small grocers, restaurants, and family businesses along Base Line Street reflect that. These accounts don’t need a national logistics contract — they need a local carrier who will show up on time, every time. Our refrigerated fleet is inspected on a strict preventive schedule, and because we’re a family-owned company ourselves, we understand what it takes to keep a small Highland business stocked and running.
Family-owned for over 25 years, we offer full truckload, less-than-truckload, and cross-docking service throughout Highland, with the personal attention a small-town business deserves.
Serrano Homeland at the Base of the Mountains
Highland sits within the same Serrano homeland that stretches across the San Bernardino Valley, at a spot where the land rises gently toward the mountains — the very feature that later gave the town its name.
From a Ditch to an Orange Grove Empire
Highland’s citrus story starts with a shovel. In 1858, pioneers Lewis Cram and Frederick Van Leuven dug the Cram-Van Leuven irrigation ditch, and by the 1880s that water source had turned the area into a thriving orange-growing district, with packing houses springing up once the Santa Fe Railroad arrived in 1881. Getting that fruit to market quickly was the entire point — oranges don’t wait, and neither does refrigerated freight today. Before it was even called Highland, the community went by an entirely different name: Messina.
Highland stayed unincorporated for well over a century, governed directly by San Bernardino County. It wasn’t until November 24, 1987 that the city became its own California municipality. The old citrus-era townsite is now a designated historic district on the National Register, preserving 81 homes and 20 commercial buildings from Highland’s orchard days — a reminder that moving fresh, perishable goods safely across the county has been part of this community’s identity since the very first orange left the packing house.
Before it was named Highland, the community was originally called Messina — the town celebrated its centennial from that founding in 1984.
Get a Quote for Highland Refrigerated Freight
Whether you’re a small grocer or a restaurant along Base Line Street, call Patterson Trans Inc. at (909) 367-2848 or request a free quote today.