Around 1870, raisin production became one of the first commercial crops in the San Bernardino Valley. The Alexandria Muscat was the dominant grape in raisin production through the 1920s and succeeded before the rise and domination of the citrus industry in the early 1900s. With a climate similar to Spain and fruit-bearing vines in two years, raisin grapes offered a good and tasty way to earn a paying crop. George Lord, once considered the most famous man in the valley, was the first to demonstrate the successful growing of the raisin grape. He won a $5 gold piece, the first prize ever offered in Los Angeles County, for the finest box of raisins. He created quite a sensation and supplied thousands of Muscat grape plants to people in the San Bernardino Valley and beyond.