News Details (Posted: May 9, 2008):

The History of Temecula

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Pre-1800
The area was inhabited by the Temecula native people for many hundreds of years before their first meeting with the Spanish missionaries (the people are now generally known as the "Luiseños", after the Mission San Luis Rey de Francia), but they lost an estimated 40% of their population due to introduced epidemics in the last few years of the 18th century.

The Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians has called the Temecula valley home for more than 10,000 years. Life on earth began in this valley, "Exva Temeeku", the place of the union of Sky— father, and Earth— mother ("Tuukumit'pi Tamaayowit"). The Temecula Indians ("Temeekuyam") lived at "Temeekunga"— "the place of the sun". Other popular interpretations include "The Sun That Shines Through The Mist" or "Where the sun breaks through the mist". According to the city website, "Temecula is the only city in California to still retain its original Indian name".

The first recorded Spanish visit occurred in October 1797, with a Franciscan padre, Father Juan Norberto de Santiago and Captain Pedro Lisalde. They were with a group searching for a new mission locale. Father Santiago kept a journal, and in it he wrote about "Temecula", an "Indian village". The trip included the Lake Elsinore area and the Temecula Valley.

1800-1900
In 1798, Spanish Missionaries established the Mission of San Luis Rey de Francia and designated the Indians living in the region "Sanluiseños", or shortened to "Luiseños".

Little is known about Temecula during the early 1800s because so many records were destroyed in the fire that followed the great San Francisco earthquake in 1906.

In the 1820s, the Mission San Antonio de Pala was built, and a serious attempt to Christianize the local natives was begun.

In 1845, during the disintegration of Mexico's hold on California, the Temecula Ranch was granted to Felix Valdez. The Luiseño and Cahuilla tribes were involved, rather bloodily, in the local battles of the Mexican-American War during the following years.

One of the most often told stories of Temeculas early days is of the Temecula Massacre in a nearby canyon that took place in January 1847. The canyon is just below the present site of the Vail Lake Dam and was the scene of the bloodiest battle of the Mexican War. The Luiseño Indians captured 11 Mexican soldiers, who had stolen some of the tribe's horses. The tribal council decided to execute the horse thieves at a place now known as Warner Springs. The event came to be known as the Pauma Massacre. A Mexican contingency, led by José del Carmen Lugo, was soon dispatched to run them down and avenge the deaths.

The Temeculans, who were now on the run, went into the canyon hoping to ambush their pursuers. The tables were turned on them, by the Mexicans who enlisted the aid of the nearby Cahuilla Indians, who had been itching to settle the score with the Temeculans over some previous skirmishes between the two tribes.

The Mexicans, feigning weariness and illness, lured the Temeculans out of the canyon and into the hands of the Cahuillas who promptly slaughtered them. Several days later the dead Temeculans were buried in a common grave, the mound of which is still visible from Highway 79.

Shortly after the Massacre, the Mormon Battalion entered the Temecula Valley. The Luiseño Indians asked the Mormons to guard them as they buried their dead. The Battalion passed through Temecula, then headed south to San Diego.

As white American settlers began to move into California in the aftermath of the war, friction with the native tribes increased. At last a "Treaty with the San Louis Rey, Etc., 1852.", negotiated in good faith by both sides, was signed in the Magee Store in Temecula in 1852. Unfortunately, it was never ratified by the United States Congress.

Temecula had its share of experiences with desperadoes. Early in 1857, Juan Flores, the leader of a gang of outlaws, killed a storekeeper in San Juan Capistrano and then again in Temecula. With the help of Manuelito Chapalac, he hid out near Santiago Peak where he and his remaining followers, who by that time had also killed the Los Angeles County Sheriff, were captured by posses from El Monte and San Diego. He later escaped, triggering the greatest manhunt ever conducted in California. Flores was finally recaptured in Simi Pass north of Los Angeles. On February 21, 1857, the Los Angeles jailer surrendered him to a mob and he was hanged on a street of the town.

When a stagecoach line started a local route, from Warner Ranch to Colton, it passed through Temecula Valley, the first run occurring on October 27, 1857. Within a year, on September 18, 1858, the Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach line, with a route between St. Louis, Missouri and San Francisco, stopped at Temecula's Magee Store.

With the arrival of the stages also came the beginning of change in the Valley: stagecoaches were synonymous with holdups, stages brought new settlers to the area, and mail became an important link with the rest of the country. On April 22, 1859, the first inland Southern California post office was established in Temecula in the Magee Store.

This was the second post office in the state, the first being located in San Francisco. The Temecula post office was destined for a number of moves over the ensuing years; its present locations are the seventh and eighth sites it has occupied. The Civil War put an end to the great Butterfield Overland Stage Service and transportation once again became a problem.

In 1862, Louis Wolf, a Temecula merchant and postmaster, married Ramona Place of Santa Barbara; she was half Indian. Author Helen Hunt Jackson spent time with Louis and Ramona Wolf in 1882 and again 1883. Wolf’s store became an inspiration for Jackson's fictional "Hartsel’s store" in her novel, Ramona , (1884). There is some speculation that Jackson's fictional heroine, Ramona, a half Indian, was inspired by Ramona Wolf.

In 1882, the Pechanga Indian Reservation of approximately 4,000 acres (16 km²) was formed by executive order and formally created some eight miles (13 km) from downtown Temecula.

On January 23, 1882, the California Southern Railroad, a subsidiary of the Santa Fe Railroad, completed construction of the section from National City (south of San Diego) to Temecula and the valleys silence was broken by the whistle of a locomotive. Regular service was started between National City and Temecula two months later and local residents had good access to San Diego. A minor business boom began in Temecula with the advent of rail service and several new stores were built and started to garner trade. In 1883 the line was extended to San Bernardino. In the late 1880s, a series of floods washed out the tracks and the section of the railroad through the canyon was finally abandoned. The old Temecula station wound up as a barn and was later demolished.

The stone age was revived in the 1890s with the operation of granite stone quarries. Temecula granite was shaped into fence and hitching posts, curb stones, courthouse steps, and building blocks. Many of the fence posts and curb stones can still be seen in Temecula, Riverside, and San Francisco.

At the turn of the century Temecula gained a place of importance as a shipping point for grain and cattle. During this period the cowboys ruled the roost and the great cattle drives from the back country took place. Temecula had become a cow town.

1900-1989
Temecula, 1909.In 1904 Walter L. Vail, who had come to the United States with his parents from Nova Scotia, migrated to California and with various partners began buying vast areas of land in Southern California. Vail was already a cattle rancher on a grand scale before he started buying ranch land in the Temecula Valley in 1905, buying large tracts beginning with 38,000 acres (154 km²) of Temecula and Pauba Ranchos, along with the northern half of the Little Temecula Ranch. Vail was run over and killed by a street car in Los Angeles in 1906; his son, Mahlon Vail, took over the family ranch.

In 1914, financed by Mahlon Vail and local ranchers, the First National Bank of Temecula opened on Front Street.

In 1915, the first paved, two-lane county road was built through Temecula.

Temecula had its share of excitement in the late 1920s and 30s. There were murders, a bank robbery, a flood, and visits by Hollywood celebrities. Prize fighters Jack Dempsey and Jack Sharkey worked out in a makeshift ring on the second floor of the old Welty building at Front and Main Streets over the Blind Pig Saloon and some moon-shining was conducted in the surrounding hills.

By 1947, the Vail Ranch contained just over 87,500 acres (354 km²). For years the Vail family had dreamed of building a dam to catch the Temecula Creek water which ran its course to the Pacific Ocean. In 1948, at a cost of more than $1 million, the dam was completed and created Vail Lake.

Through the mid-1960's the economy of the Temecula Valley centered around the Vail Ranch; the cattle business and agriculture were the stimuli for most business ventures. During that period, the clientele of the Swing Inn, the Long Branch Saloon and the Stables Bar seemed to be confined to ranchers, cowboys, and Indians. While the Old West lifestyle continued here, the outside world was evolving dramatically.

On December 4, 1964, the Vail Ranch was sold to Kaiser Development Company and launched the transformation of the Temecula Valley. A later purchase by the group brought the total area to 97,500 acres (395 km²) a spread of land two and a half times the size of the city and county of San Francisco.

The last years of the 1960s and early 70's witnessed the beginnings of dramatic change in the Temecula Valley. Engineers, contractors, heavy-equipment operators and real estate agents quickly edged out the cowboys and Indians as the main customers at the local establishments. Pickup trucks towing horse trailers, trucks hauling cattle and tractors rigged with farm implements were replaced by cement mixers, lumber trucks and industrial grading equipment. Sales activity switched from cattle, hay and grain to subdivided real estate land.

The Kaiser Land Development Company marketed the valley's attractions actively. Soon, the area became known as Rancho California. Many land sales were accomplished by means of limited partnership syndications, which helped to spread awareness of the area.

One side effect of this high-profile development was a second tier real estate boom in land suitable for avocado groves and grape vineyards on the east side of the valley. The value of plantable land skyrocketed.

The late '70s brought changes to some of the original Old West sites. The Long Branch Saloon was converted into a meeting house, while the Stables Bar became the site for retail stores. Although the Swing Inn remains, new restaurants began to open.

The I-15 corridor between Los Angeles County and San Diego was completed in the early 1980s and the subdivision land boom began. When Rancho California incorporated in December, 1989, the citizens voted to officially name their city "Temecula".

1990-present
The 1990s brought rapid growth to the Temecula Valley. Many families began to move to the area from San Diego and Orange County drawn by the affordable housing prices. However, as the years have progressed, the housing has become more expensive and the area has become primarily middle to upper-middle class.

In 1999, The Promenade Mall opened in Temecula on land that had once been used for farming and grazing. The mall made Temecula a regional center for shopping and dining. In 2005, Temecula expanded by annexing the neighboring planned community known as Redhawk. The annexation brought the rapidly growing population to 90,000. Due to the rapid growth of the city, Temecula has experienced severe traffic conditions in the area. In early 2007, Tori Spelling and husband Dean McDermott announced they were starting a new show on the Oxygen network about their experience with opening and running a Bed and Breakfast in Temecula, but the B&B is actually located in Fallbrook.

After a period of rapid population growth and home construction, the 2007 subprime mortgage financial crisis and the resultant United States housing market correction caused a sharp rise in home foreclosures in the Temecula-Murrieta region. The mass foreclosures have affected the character of many area neighborhoods, with abandoned properties, dying lawns, and stagnant pools becoming more of a common sight.

Source: Wikipedia®