Murrieta Hot Springs has thousands of years of history
The pending reopening of Murrieta Hot Springs to the public is a good time to look back at the long and interesting history of this landmark in Riverside County.
According to longtime Temecula-area historian Horace Parker, the springs were termed “Paala Saaquina” by the native people of the greater Temecula area. The springs, which emit both fresh water and mineral water, were long used by the Indigenous population of the region.
This interest and use of the waters extended to the Spanish and Mexican eras of Southern California. According to Juan Murrieta, a onetime part owner of the Temecula Rancho and the man for whom Murrieta is named, people came from as far as Baja California to partake of the waters at what is now known as Murrieta Hot Springs.
Naturally, as California became a state in the United States and Americans began to settle the region, the springs were commercialized. At that point, they were known as the Temecula Hot Springs due to their location on the Temecula Rancho.
As early as 1885, a
New York physician named Dr. Alexander De Borra had begun a sanitarium at the springs, touting the “curative” properties of the water.
According to one advertisement, the “medicinal properties [of the water] are due to Sulphur, iron, potash and soda salts. The temperature is about 180F, hot enough to boil anything. These springs are well known throughout this region, and even in Baja California and Sonora, so that for years they have been the resort of natives and others.”
By 1890, Murrieta had sold his property and the town of Murrieta had been started. So, the name of the springs was changed to Murrieta Hot Springs, as they are still known today.
Around 1900, the resort received a visitor who would change the look of it forever.
German immigrant Fritz Guenther paid a visit and was so enamored with the site and its potential that he purchased it with the intention of creating a firstclass resort. The purchase was completed in 1902, and Guenther, together with his sons
Fritz and Rudolph, began developing the springs as a resort.
Guenther named two of the main springs Siloam and Bethesda after biblical springs, and named the third Ramona after the heroine of the novel of the same name.
In the ensuing years, Guenther’s Murrieta Hot Springs, as it was formally known, expanded greatly with bath houses, swimming pools, a hotel, landscaped grounds and even a golf course being added for the enjoyment of guests. Meanwhile, “taking the waters,” as it was known, remained paramount to the health and enjoyment of guests.
Eventually, the Guenther family sold the property in 1970, and the facility went through many episodes — some good, some not so good — in the ensuing 25 years. In 1995, the property was sold to Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa. Calvary Chapel remade the resort into a Christian retreat, which has been the primary use of the facility up until a few years ago, when Calvary Chapel sold it to the current owners, who have remade the hot springs resort that will open soon.
If you have an idea for a future Back in the Day column about a local historic person, place or event, contact Steve Lech and Kim Jarrell Johnson at backinthedaype@ gmail.com.