The driving force for the creation of the San Gorgonio section of ACS was Dr. Francis Gunther. 

Dr. Gunther spent his youth in Colorado and graduated with a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Colorado in 1939. Shortly after receiving his M.A. in chemistry from UCLA in 1941, he was employed by Dr. Walter Ebeling as a laboratory assistant in the Division of Entomology of the University of California Citrus Experiment Station (UC CES) in Riverside. In 1947, Dr. Gunther completed his Ph.D. in chemistry at UCLA and was promoted to Assistant Insect Toxicologist at the Citrus Experiment Station.

Around this time, he was involved in ACS at the Southern California section and led the quest to branch off the eastern portion of the Southern California section, partly because distance and traffic made it difficult to attend meetings centered in the Los Angeles area. In 1949, the San Gorgonio section was charted by then ACS president Dr.  Linus Pauling and Dr. Gunther became the first chairman of the newly chartered section.

The Citrus Experiment Station was the forebearer of U.C. Riverside, which opened its doors to undergraduate students in 1954. When a graduate division was established at U.C. Riverside in 1960, Dr. Gunther assumed teaching duties and was given the title of Professor of Entomology and Chemistry. He served the University of California for his entire 44-year distinguished career, making significant contributions to the development of analytical methods for the detection of pesticide residues.