News Details (Posted: February 21, 2008):

The History of Lake Elsinore

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Native Americans have long lived in the area. Lake Elsinore was incorporated as a city in 1888 (even before Riverside County's creation in 1893) but was inhabited well before then. In the 18th century when the lake was natural it provided a spot for Spanish ranchers and American trappers to replenish their supplies. It was named Elsinore after the Danish city in Shakespeare's "Hamlet", which is now its sister city.

The lake went dry in the 1930s. In the early 1960s it was refilled, and in 1980 it flooded the surrounding homes and businesses. Since then there has been a multi-million dollar project put into place to maintain the water supply at a consistent level allowing for homes to be built close to the lake. Unfortunately there are no provisions to allow the water to spill out via a river, so the overflow must be diverted into the Temescal Canyon Wash. In 2007 there was an airation system added to help with the lake's ecosystem.

Lake Elsinore was a popular destination in the first half of the 1900s for celebrities to escape the urban Hollywood scene. Many of their homes still stand on the hills surrounding the lake, including Aimee's Castle (Aimee Semple McPherson), a uniquely shaped house perched on a hill above the water.

Despite its relatively small African-American population, it has the distinction of electing the first black mayor in the state of California. Tom Yarborough was elected in 1966, three years before Douglas Dollarhide became the mayor of Compton.

Rapid population growth altered the appearance and image of Lake Elsinore from a small lakeside town of 3,800 people in 1976 to a bedroom community of upper middle-class professionals. The city and its sphere of influence now has over 38,000 residents as of 2006 and formerly open hillsides have been converted into housing tracts.