Lake Elsinore

The Luiseño people are the earliest known inhabitants of the Elsinore Valley. Their rock paintings survive in the Santa Ana Mountains and the Temescal Valley, and artifacts have been found around the lake. The Spanish Franciscan Juan Santiago first saw the lake in 1797, while exploring east from Mission San Juan Capistrano. A traveler in 1810 described it as little more than a swamp about a mile long.

Julian Manriquez acquired Rancho La Laguna in 1844. It covered almost 20,000 acres and included the lake. Abel Stearns bought the rancho in 1851 and sold it in 1858 to Augustin Machado, whose adobe served as a station on the Butterfield Overland Mail route. The Great Flood of 1862 raised the lake. The drought of 1862 to 1865 then killed cattle and lowered the water.

Franklin H. Heald and his partners bought the rest of the rancho on October 5, 1883, and the California Southern Railroad reached the area in 1884. The name Elsinore comes from Helsingor, the Danish city that appears in Shakespeare's Hamlet. The town incorporated in April 1888 and was the 73rd incorporated city in California. Voters changed the name of the city to Lake Elsinore in 1972.

Mineral hot springs drew visitors from the start. The Crescent Bath House, known as The Chimes, was built in 1887 and is a registered historic site. When it incorporated in 1888, its working economy rested on coal and clay mining, gold mining, ranching, and fruit and nut farming.

Education also shaped the town for a while. The Elsinore Naval and Military School operated from 1933 until it closed in 1977. Pacific Clay, a clay products company, is among the businesses based in the city.

The city uses the motto Dream Extreme, and motorsports are part of its history. The Elsinore Grand Prix was an open-format dirt-bike race held around the lake, usually in mid-November. It was most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Scenes from the race appear in the 1971 documentary On Any Sunday. The race was cancelled in the mid-1970s and revived in 1996. In 1973, Honda named one of its motorcycle models the CR250M Elsinore after the race.

Baseball is another local tradition. Lake Elsinore Diamond is a minor league baseball stadium built in 1994. The lake sits at the center of the city.

Historic buildings remain too. The Chimes bath house dates from 1887. The Bredlau Castle, once known as the Schultz Mansion, is another landmark in the city.

Retail, schools and local government provide much of the work. Large employers include the Lake Elsinore Unified School District, M and M Framing, Stater Bros. Markets, Costco, Walmart, the Lake Elsinore Hotel and Casino, the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District and The Home Depot.

One of California's first outlet shopping centers opened here in the late 1990s, on Collier Avenue at Nichols Road, next to Interstate 15.

Interstate 15 runs along the east side of the city. South it leads to Temecula and San Diego. North it leads to Corona and on toward Las Vegas. State Route 74 crosses the city from west to east. To the west it climbs into Orange County, and to the east it reaches Perris and the Coachella Valley.

Bus service comes from the Riverside Transit Agency, which runs routes 8, 9, 40, 205 and 206 through the area.

Most of the city is served by the Lake Elsinore Unified School District, which has about 21,500 students. It runs 15 elementary schools, five middle schools, three high schools and three alternative schools. The three main high schools are Lakeside, Temescal Canyon and Elsinore. Small parts of the city fall inside the Menifee Union, Perris Union High and Perris Elementary districts. Three private schools also operate in the city.

City Hall is at 130 S Main Street. Recreation classes have online registration.

The lake is the main draw. Among the city's parks, City Park is in the Historic District. McVicker Canyon Park holds the first skatepark owned by the city. Serenity Park opened in June 2015 on Palomar Road. It has an 8,500-square-foot skate plaza with a bowl, ramps and quarter-pipes.

Events run through the year. Events include Winterfest and a tree lighting ceremony in December, as well as Veterans Day and Dia de los Muertos events.