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Temecula is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States with a population of 102,604. It was incorporated on December 1, 1989.

Temecula is bordered by Murrieta on the northwest and the Pechanga Indian Reservation on the south, with unincorporated areas of Riverside County on all of its other borders. It is served by the Interstate 15 (Temecula Valley Freeway), Interstate 215 and California State Route 79 (Temecula Parkway).

With neighboring Murrieta, Temecula forms the southwestern anchor of the Inland Empire region. It is almost equidistant to San Diego, Los Angeles, and Orange County, California. Temecula is also home to military families from nearby Camp Pendleton, MCAS Miramar, March Air Reserve Base and the Navy bases in San Diego.

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The area was inhabited by the Temecula natives for many hundreds of years before their first meeting with the Spanish missionaries (the people are now generally known as the "Luiseños", after the Mission San Luis Rey de Francia). The Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians believe their ancestors have lived in the Temecula area for more than 10,000 years. In Pechanga mythology, life on earth began in the Temecula Valley. They call it, "Exva Temeeku", the place of the union of Sky— father, and Earth— mother ("Tuukumit'pi Tamaayowit"). The Temecula Indians ("Temeekuyam") lived at "Temeekunga"— "the place of the sun".Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians

Other popular interpretations of the name, Temecula, include "The Sun That Shines Through The Mist" or "Where the sun breaks through the mist". According to the city website, "Temecula is the only city in California to still retain its original Indian name".

The first recorded Spanish visit occurred in October 1797, with a Franciscan padre, Father Juan Norberto de Santiago and Captain Pedro Lisalde. Father Santiago kept a journal, and in it he wrote about "Temecula ...an Indian village". The trip included the Lake Elsinore area and the Temecula Valley.

In 1798, Spanish Missionaries established the Mission of San Luis Rey de Francia and designated the Indians living in the region "Sanluiseños", or shortened to "Luiseños". In the 1820s, the Mission San Antonio de Pala was built.

In 1845 three Mexican land grants were made in the Temecula area: Rancho Temecula which included the village of Temecula, granted to Felix Valdez, Rancho Pauba to the east granted to Vicente Moraga, and Rancho Santa Rosa in the hills to the west to granted Juan Moreno. A fourth grant was known as Rancho Little Temecula at the southern end of the valley, was made to Pablo Apis, one of the few former mission converts to be given a land grant.

The Luiseño and Cahuilla tribes were involved in the local battles of the Mexican-American War during the following years. In January 1847 in an event known as the Pauma Massacre, the Luiseño Indians captured 11 Mexican soldiers, who had stolen some of the tribe's horses. The Californio response was the event known as the Temecula Massacre. As American settlers began to move into the area after the war, friction with the native tribes increased. A Treaty was signed in the Magee Store in Temecula in 1852, but never ratified by the United States Congress.

When a stagecoach line started a local route, from Warner Ranch to Colton, it passed through Temecula Valley, the first run occurring in 1857. Within a year, the Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach line, with a route between St. Louis, Missouri and San Francisco, stopped at Temecula's Magee Store. On April 22, 1859, the first inland Southern California post office was established in Temecula in the Magee Store. This was the second post office in the state, the first being located in San Francisco. The Temecula post office was destined for a number of moves over the ensuing years; its present locations are the seventh and eighth sites it has occupied. The Civil War put an end to the great Butterfield Overland Stage Service and transportation once again became a problem.

In 1862, Louis Wolf, a Temecula merchant and postmaster, married Ramona Place of Santa Barbara; she was half Indian. Author Helen Hunt Jackson spent time with Louis and Ramona Wolf in 1882 and again 1883. Wolf's store became an inspiration for Jackson's fictional "Hartsel's store" in her novel, Ramona , (1884). There is some speculation that Jackson's fictional heroine, Ramona, a half Indian, was inspired by Ramona Wolf.

In 1882, the Pechanga Indian Reservation of approximately 4,000 acres (16 km) some 8 miles (13 km) from downtown Temecula was formed by executive order. In 1882, the California Southern Railroad, a subsidiary of the Santa Fe Railroad, completed construction of the section from National City to Temecula. In 1883 the line was extended to San Bernardino. In the late 1880s, a series of floods washed out the tracks and the section of the railroad through the canyon was finally abandoned. The old Temecula station wound up as a barn and was later demolished.

In the 1890s with the operation of granite stone quarries, Temecula granite was shaped into fence and hitching posts, curb stones, courthouse steps, and building blocks. At the turn of the century Temecula gained a place of importance as a shipping point for grain and cattle.

Temecula, 1909.

In 1904 Walter L. Vail, who had come to the United States with his parents from Nova Scotia, migrated to California and with various partners began buying land in Southern California. Vail started buying ranch land in the Temecula Valley in 1905, buying 38,000 acres (154 km) of Rancho Temecula and Rancho Pauba, along with the northern half of Rancho Little Temecula. Vail was killed by a street car in Los Angeles in 1906, and his son, Mahlon Vail, took over the family ranch. In 1914, financed by Mahlon Vail and local ranchers, the First National Bank of Temecula opened on Front Street. In 1915, the first paved, two-lane county road was built through Temecula.

By 1947, the Vail Ranch contained over 87,500 acres (354 km). In 1948, the Vail family built a dam to catch the Temecula Creek water and created Vail Lake. Through the mid-1960s the economy of the Temecula Valley centered around the Vail Ranch; the cattle business and agriculture were the stimuli for most business ventures. In 1964, the Vail Ranch was sold to Kaiser Land Development Company. A later purchase by the group brought the total area to 97,500 acres (395 km), and the area became known as Rancho California. The I-15 corridor between Los Angeles County and San Diego was completed in the early 1980s and the subdivision land boom began. When Rancho California incorporated in December, 1989, the citizens voted to officially name their city "Temecula".

The 1990s brought rapid growth to the Temecula Valley. Many families began to move to the area from San Diego and Orange County drawn by the affordable housing prices. In 1999, The Promenade Mall opened in Temecula. In 2005, Temecula expanded by annexing the neighboring planned community known as Redhawk. The annexation brought the population to 90,000. After a period of rapid population growth and home construction, the 2007 subprime mortgage financial crisis and the resultant United States housing market correction caused a sharp rise in home foreclosures in the Temecula-Murrieta region.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 26.3 square miles (68.1 km²), of which, 26.3 square miles (68.0 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.11%) is water.

Temecula has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa).

As of the census of 2000, there were 57,716 people, 18,293 households, and 15,164 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,198.3 people per square mile (848.6/km²). There were 19,099 housing units at an average density of 727.4/sq mi (280.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 78.93% White, 3.42% African American, 0.86% Native American, 4.73% Asian, 0.30% Pacific Islander, 7.41% from other races, and 4.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19.01% of the population.

There were 18,293 households out of which 52.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.8% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.1% were non-families. 12.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.15 and the average family size was 3.45.

In the city the population was spread out with 34.7% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 33.3% from 25 to 44, 17.2% from 45 to 64, and 7.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. The above average number of young people in Temecula was attriubted to an influx of middle-class families came to buy homes in the 1990s real estate boom. For every 100 females there were 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.2 males.

According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $75,335, and the median income for a family was $80,836.[2] Males had a median income of $47,113 (2000) versus $31,608 (2000) for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,312 (2003). About 5.6% of families and 6.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.1% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over.

The Temecula Valley Unified School District (TVUSD) has schools in Temecula, Murrieta and Winchester, California. The general boundaries extend north to Baxter Road in French Valley, south to the Riverside/San Diego county line, east to Vail Lake, and west to the Temecula city limit. The district covers approximately 148 square miles (383 km), with an enrollment of approximately 25,000 students (Grades K-12).

• Hillcrest Academy
• Linfield Christian School
• Rancho Community Christian School
• Temecula Prep
• Van Avery Prep

• Grace Mellman Community Library
• Temecula Public Library

In the state legislature Temecula is located in the 36th Senate District, represented by Republican Dennis Hollingsworth, and in the 64th and 66th Assembly Districts, represented by Republicans John J. Benoit and Kevin Jeffries respectively. Federally, Temecula is located in California's 49th congressional district, which has a Cook PVI of R +10 and is represented by Republican Darrell Issa.

The Temecula Valley area is served by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department through its regional station in the unincorporated town of French Valley, just immediately north of the City of Temecula, east of State Route 79 (also serving the town of Sedco Hills and the newly-incorporated City of Wildomar, the station is adjacent to the Riverside County Superior Court's Southwest Regional Judicial District Courthouse and Southwest Regional Detention Center, one of the four regional jails in this county).

The City of Temecula contracts for fire protection and emergency medical services (EMS) with the Riverside County Fire Department through a cooperative agreement with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire). Temecula currently has 4 fire stations with a fifth one currently under construction. Four paramedic engine companies and one truck company cover the city.

Temecula Crime Statistics (2007)

Population:93,665

Violent Crime:207

Murder & Nonneglient Manslaughter:5

Forcible Rape:12

Robbery:81

Aggravated Assault:109

Property Crime:2,654

Burglary:667

Larceny-Theft:1,688

Motor Vehicle Theft:299

Arson:6

Temecula Valley Balloon and Wine Festival

Golfers can use one of the nine local golf courses including Pechanga's Journey, Redhawk, Temecula Creek Inn, Temeku Hills, CrossCreek, Pala Mesa and the SCGA Member's Course (in nearby Murrieta).

Temecula was a proposed city for a charter membership in the California Inline Hockey League. The California Inline Hockey league was a grassroots minor league inline hockey league with clubs based in the state of California but later added two teams in Nevada. The CIHL awarded the city of Temecula a club which was to be a part of the CIHL's first season in 1995. The club was named the Temecula Desert Rats and they were going to be members of the CIHL along with the San Francisco Seals, Santa Barbara Sandsharks, Los Angeles Golden Bears, High Desert (Adelanto) Rattlers, Reno Express, Carson City Mavericks and a proposed team in San Diego which like Temecula suspended operations for 1995. Temecula's reason for suspending operations was because no suitable rink was available the for the club. With no rink to play at the Temecula Desert Rats relocated to Phoenix and were to become the Phoenix Desert Rats for the 1996 season in the newly renamed Continental Inline Hockey League. The CIHL was to be made up of the El Paso Rattlers (formly High Desert), Tucson Thunder Blades, Phoenix Desert Rats, Las Vegas High Rollers, Reno Express, Los Angeles Golden Bears, San Francisco Seals and San Diego. The CIHL had plans for expansion beyond the west coast with the league expanding to the east coast with proposed cities of San Antonio Tx, Tulsa Oklahoma, Jackson Miss,Birmingham Ala, Greensboro N.C and Tallahassee. Fla.

A collection of historic 1890s buildings, antique stores, shopping and restaurants, Old Town Temecula is also home to such events as car shows, western days and summer entertainment. Specialty food stores, unique boutiques, dozens of gift and collectible stores and 7 large antique dealers do business in the district as well as Starbucks Coffee located near the entrance to Old Town.

Old Town is also home to the Temecula Museum which features exhibits about the local band of Native Americans and the local natural history and city development.

In 2001, the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians built the $262 million Pechanga Resort and Casino complex. Linked together in an architectural design that subtly highlights the tribe's Luiseño culture, the facility includes: an 85,000-square-foot (7,900 m) casino, 1,200-seat bingo hall, 515,000-square-foot (47,800 m), 13-story, 522-room hotel and 38,800-square-foot (3,600 m) convention center, 1,200-seat showroom, 200-seat cabaret lounge, and seven restaurants. The new casino also features 2,000 slot machines, 60 card tables and 15 poker tables.

In 2004, construction of a new gaming area was begun and completed. It is almost 400,000 square feet (40,000 m) in area, including a new nightclub, Silk, and the Round Bar. Silk has a capacity of 1600 people and has five bars inside the club. The Round Bar features California's largest glass structure. The new casino also features a new sportsbar and restaurant, Kelseys, and five new eateries at the Festival of Foods.

Pechanga Resort and Casino is Temecula Valley's number one employer, with about 7,500 people employed.

• Temecula Bluegrass Festival[3]
• Temecula Street Painting Festival
• Temecula Photo Contest [4]
• Temecula Valley Balloon and Wine Festival
• Temecula Valley International Film and Music Festival
• Temecula Valley International Jazz Festival[5]
• Children's Matsuri[6]
• Dutch American Heritage Day
• Taste of the World