Murrieta Hot Springs, California (Riverside County)
last updated: February 14th, 2008
Once mainly farm and ranchland, the city got its name from the warm springs that
flowed in the area. Murrieta Hot Springs was formed at a spot where creek waters emerge from the ground
at 142 degrees Fahrenheit after traveling through the Elsinore Fault.
The springs have long been part of the local landscape and were used by local
Native Americans long before the area was settled. When Juan Murrieta owned thousands of acres in the area
in the 1870s, he reportedly used the hot springs to wash his sheep. A Chinese family bought the hot springs
in the 1880s and used the water in their laundry business. In 1902, German saloon keeper Fritz Guenther
bought the site and built the resort that put the area on the map.
Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa purchased the former Murrieta Hot Springs Resort in Murrieta, California as a site for Calvary Chapel Conference Center and a campus for the Bible College. Many of the buildings are historic sites and have been renovated to their original charm. The facilities include dining areas, student living quarters, classrooms, a sanctuary, library, bookstore, theater, swimming pool, Roman spa, and evangelistic coffee house.
(Population) 2000 Census: 2,948
ZIP Codes: 92562-92564
Elevation: 1,194 ft (364 m)
Total Area: 1.3 square miles (3.3 kmē)
Land: 1.3 sq mi (3.3 kmē)
Water: 0 sq mi (0 kmē)