Temecula

In the far southwest corner of Riverside County, a center of commerce grew in the 19th century near the junction of the Temecula and Murrieta Creeks. A stop along the Southern Emigrant Trail and Butterfield Stage route brought a few travelers to Temecula who liked the place and stayed. A cattle baron grazed his stock in the rich pastureland and dominated the economy until the mid-1960s, when an investor bought the land to build a planned community. Today Temecula is the home of over 90,000 ...