Old Temecula Walking Tours

09/19/2024

100 YEARS AGO IN TEMECULA
From The Lake Elsinore Valley Press 📰

👉 September 4, 1924 - Dies of Injuries Received when Struck by Auto

T. H. Brooks of Temecula, who has been employed by Nelson Brothers for the past year, was accidentally killed in Pomona Wednesday evening, August 27th. He was coming around the rear of his car, near Walnut, when a car, driven by a lady, struck him, injuring him fatally. A passing truck picked him up and took him to the Pomona hospital where he died a few hours later.

👉 September 11, 1924 - Temecula Notes

The barber shop and pool hall owned by Ole Larson was gutted by fire Tuesday morning at 3:30 a.m., the pool tables being the only things saved. The outside of the building was not damaged by the fire.
Mrs. Bessie Barnett left last Sunday for a week's vacation at Oceanside.

👉 September 18, 1924 - Ice Company Sells Routes to Drivers

Clyde F. Bair, proprietor of the Lake Elsinore Ice Company, has announced the sale of the company's two outside routes to the drivers. Jack De Arman bought the Alberhill and Temescal Canyon route, which he had been driving and Charles Kitch purchased the Temecula and Murrieta route. The sale of the route to the drivers is a progressive step in line with the policies of the largest ice manufacturers and tends to enable the local plant to function as manufactures rather than distributers.

👉 Eli Barnett of Temecula Sued for $31,000 Damages 😮

A damage suit against Eli Barnett, of Temecula, for $31,200 damages, was filed in the superior court in Riverside Monday by James G. Parrot and Fred Guiol. Plaintiffs claim damages in that amount to themselves and car as a result of a collision over a year ago near Temecula. The defendant is alleged to have been "driving in a reckless and negligent manner." Parrot claims a fractured nose and three broken teeth; Guiol claiming a lacerated scalp and a broken arm.

Photo is Main Street, Temecula, circa 1925

👉If you are interested in taking a History Tour or Ghost Tour, visit the web site www.oldtowntemeculatours.com.

09/17/2024

TEMECULA AFTER DARK GHOST TOURS 👀

The weather is perfect this week for taking a tour. Also taking reservations for tours in October.

Since 2008, the Old Town Temecula Ghost Tour has brought the chilling past back into the present with tales of current hauntings, true crimes of years past, and ghostly tales that still resonate today in what was Old West Temecula. Listen to eerie stories about Old Town Temecula's history that have left their ghostly imprint. You will experience the Historic Jail patio where things move on their own, Murrieta Creek the site of numerous tragedies, and the most Haunted Hotel in the area just to name a few.

For more information or to reserve a tour, visit the website at www.oldtowntemeculatours.com

09/16/2024

TEMECULA VALLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY PRESENTATION

At 6 pm on Monday, September 23 Gail Rawson Barton will give an in-depth presentation about Tommy Rawson and the Rawson Ranch in the greater French Valley area. The title of Bartion's program is “As the Twig is Bent so is the Tree Inclined”. Along with projected photographs, Gail will explain how her grandfather Tommy was influenced by his parents's belief that education plus hard work build a spirit that aspires men to greatness.

Barton will explore Tommy’s early education at Rawson School and at Hemet High School, and his involvement as a trustee of both the Rawson School and the Hemet Union High School District. She will explain how as an adult Tommy influenced the lives of several young individuals.

Barton says she learned much of the Rawson history from her late brother Gary Wanczuk. Her brothers Gary and Glen spent their summers on the Rawson Ranch with their remarkable grandfather Tommy. The boys heard the stories, experienced life on the ranch, and benefitted from the mentoring of their grandfather. Barton, as the youngest and a female, was the “Queen Bee” who rode in the cab of the pick-up instead of in the back with the boys. Barton will share information gleaned from her brothers's stories and from letters, articles, and pictures left in a family treasure trunk that she inherited.

The program at the Little Temecula History Museum, the red barn next to Kohls on Temecula Parkway in south Temecula is free.

First photograph: The photo of the schoolhouses was taken circa 1915 and shows the 1st and 4th Rawson schools located on the Ranch.

Second photograph: The picture of Hemet High School scholars was taken at the old Hemet High School in 1901. Tommy is third from right, seated.

Third photograph: Rawson Ranch signs were posted all over the Ranch.

09/16/2024

The Southern California Vintage Base Ball League Championship match is set for Saturday, October 5th. The Temecula Dear Bros take on the Perris Prospectors at 9am at McVicker Canyon Park in Lake Elsinore. Come check out America’s Passtime as it was played jn 1886 and cheer on your Temecula Dear Bros!

09/13/2024

DID YOU KNOW?

Fall temperatures have arrived and the nightly breeze 🌬️ is once again making its presence known.

It is not by accident that Temecula nights are cool. Temecula is 24 miles from the ocean 🏖️ as the crow flies. There are two geologic features unique to this area that allow the breeze to reach Temecula. They are Temecula Canyon and Rainbow Gap.

When night arrives the coastal inversion layer (marine layer) forms trapping cool air that makes its way to Temecula through these points to the south of Temecula. This unique microclimate is similiar to a Mediterranean climate which is perfect for growing grapes. This more than anything else is responsible for the 50+ wineries🍷that we have here in Temecula

Shown in the pictures are, 1) Temecula Canyon, 2) Rainbow Gap, where Interstate 15 is today and where local quarries existed, and 3) Robert Renzoni Winery.

👉If you are interested in taking a tour, visit my website: www.oldtowntemeculatours.com for more information.

09/06/2024

DID YOU KNOW?

Where the Old Town Antique Faire , Rivers & Roads , and The Press Espresso stand today there used to be a large corral that Vail Ranch would hold their cattle while waiting for shipment by train to the slaughterhouse and meat packing company. This corral was located next to the building where Wild Skyes is located now.

We don't have a picture of that corral today but you can get an idea of what it looked liked by visiting the Temecula Valley Museum in Old Town Temecula. The museum is located at 28314 Mercedes Street behind the United States Post Office.

In the museum is a diorama of Old Town Temecula made by Joseph Toigo of San Diego in 1976. Toigo was commissioned by John Bianchi to make a composite model of various early buildings in Old Town. His research included interviews of local residents who had been around in the early days of Temecula. Not all of the buildings in the diorama existed at the same time. When viewing the diorama, much of what is shown dates to about 1915.

To learn more about Old Town Temecula, consider a tour at www.oldtowntemeculatours.com

09/02/2024

08/27/2024

TEMECULA AFTER DARK GHOST TOURS

👉 LABOR DAY WEEK SPECIAL - ALL TOURS $10 👈

Since 2008, the Old Town Temecula Ghost Tour has brought the chilling past back into the present with tales of current hauntings, true crimes of years past, and ghostly tales that still resonate today in what was Old West Temecula. Listen to eerie stories about Old Town Temecula's history that have left their ghostly imprint. You will experience the Historic Jail patio where things move on their own, Murrieta Creek the site of numerous tragedies, and the most Haunted Hotel in the area just to name a few.

For more information or to book a tour, visit the website: www.oldtowntemeculatours.com

07/24/2024

📰 100 YEARS AGO IN TEMECULA 📰
From The Lake Elsinore Valley Press

TEMECULA TO HAVE BIG TWO DAYS CELEBRATION
Temecula will pull the feathers from the Eagle by having a two days celebration this year, commencing on July 4, and closing July 5. Those in charge of the affair guarantee a great time for all who attend and the program will be the best ever given in that little town. Expert horsemen and daring cowboys, and Temecula has many of them, will participate in both programs, and the contest will be exciting from start to finish. Following is the program in full.

PROGRAM FOR JULY 4

9:00 a.m. Boys Foot Race, 50 yards $2.00
9:15 a.m. Men's Foot Race 100 yards $2.50
9:30 a.m. Wheelbarrow race $2.00
10:00 a.m. Potato race on horses $12.00
1:30 p.m. Button race on horses $5.00
2:00 p.m. Saddle horse race 500 yards $4.00
3:00 p.m. Horse race free for all 400 yards $20.00
4:00 p.m. Valise race $5.00
4:30 p.m. Saddle and unsaddle race $5.00
Dancing in the evening
PROGRAM FOR JULY 5

9:00 a.m. Base Ball, Temecula vs. $25.00
1:30 p.m. Novelty race $5.00
2:30 p.m. Bronco Busting $45.00
3:30 p.m. Roping Contest $10.00
July 3, 1914, Lake Elsinore
County Administrator W. H. Polinkhorn and Stanley Wilson, the architect of Riverside, stopped over in Elsinore Tuesday on their way home from Temecula where Mr. Wilson had been to figure on the er****on of a school building at Temecula. Roy Dutton has been quite sick since his return from Temecula. He is able to sit up at present. William Friedemann and wife of Temecula visited at the home of A. S. Burnham last week.

July 3, 1914
NEW GRAMMAR SCHOOL BUILDING FOR TEMECULA
The trustees of the Temecula grammar school are making preparations to call an election for the purpose of voting bonds to the amount of $10,000 for the er****on of a new school building. It is the intention of the trustees to unite the Temecula district with the outlying school districts adjacent and to vote bonds sufficient to erect a large and up-to-date building. The election will likely be called in the near future and those in a position to know, say the bonds will easily carry. The progressive citizens of Temecula realize that in order for their wonderfully fertile country to grow they must have good schools, and this is one of the first moves in the up building of a thriving community for the Temecula valley. Already a bank building has been erected that would do credit to a town of several thousand people and Temecula now boasts of the First National Bank of Temecula. Several of the big ranches will be subdivided into small farms and then Temecula will grow rapidly. There is no better soil anywhere than in this section, but the great drawback to the growth of the country has been the fact the ranchers would not sell their holdings.

July 10, 1914
TEMECULA BANK MAKES FINE SHOWING
Elsewhere in this issue we publish the statement of the First National Bank of Temecula, which commenced business less than a month ago. The business up to date shows this institution to be on the road to great success. The deposits have already reached nearly $12,000 and the loans and discounts have reached over $15,000. The bank owns its building, which cost $10,000 and is managed by conservative and reliable businessmen.

July 31, 1914
LAKE ELSINORE ICE CREAM SOCIAL
There will be an ice cream social at Swanguen Hall, Temecula, Saturday evening, August 1, given by the Ladies' Auxiliary of the Sunday school. Homemade ice cream and cake will be served. Everybody welcome.

July 31, 1914
ROCK QUARRIES NEAR TOWN BUSY PLACE
The rock quarries in this section are very busy just now, and several of them have large orders, which they are rushing out. The quarries near Elsinore have been working a number of men and paying out considerable money for labor. The Connolly and Coogan quarries are the largest near town, and slabs are being cut for paving and other purposes. These quarries ship their product from Elsinore to Riverside, Los Angeles and other points. Near Temecula there are several quarries, which have been working a large force of men. Contracts have been signed with the Pacific Electric people of Los Angeles for 400,000 paving blocks to be cut from hard stone. At present there about twenty Swedes working in Vicieto Canyon, turning out three or four thousand blocks a day. For cutting these blocks the men get $45.00 a thousand. The blocks are hauled by wagon to Temecula and shipped to Los Angeles. It is said the contractors get $55.00 a thousand for the blocks f. o. b. Temecula. There are two kinds of paving blocks; the straight and beveled blocks and the quarryman can make much better time on the straights. Many of them make as high as $5 and $6 a day and only work eight hours, but they have followed the business most of their lives and it is a hard trade to learn. The quarry in Vicieto Canyon is being operated by Joe Winkels of Temecula, Mac Machado, and Mr. Toland and others own valuable rock quarries in the Temecula neighborhood.

- FOREST FIRES RAGE SOUTH OF TOWN
- FOREST RANGERS BUSY AND TWO FIRES ARE STARTED IN ONE DAY SOUTH OF TEMECULA
- HUNDREDS OF ACRES ARE BURNED OVER DESTROYING TREES AND BEE FOOD
This is the time of year when the forest rangers are kept on the jump, and then it is impossible for them to prevent great damage with every year results from the carelessness of campers and others who travel the public highways. However, it is a very fortunate thing that most of the fires originate on the public roads making it easy to reach them before they have gained any considerable headway. Last Monday Game Warden J. H. Gyger, Forest Ranger James Brown and W. L. Taylor left early in the morning for Temecula and were on their way home in the afternoon when smoke began to curl up from Vicieto canyon. Game Warden Gyger, in whose touring car the party made the trip, wheeled his machine and within thirty minutes the fire was reached. It had spread over several hundred acres of brush land and was making for the flats, where great damage would have been done had the Forest Ranger not reached the scene in time. Some careless persons had set the fire, but no trace of the party could be found. After spending the greater part of the evening in the canyon the fire began to die down and when the ranger left it had about burned out. There was also another fire to the east of Vicieto Canyon, which was out of Mr. Brown's territory. Forest Ranger Brown has fireguards scattered all over his district and is able to reach nearly any fire within a few hours after it starts. He is rendering splendid service in preventing the destruction of property and damage to the watersheds by the forest fires.

TEMECULA NEWS

An election has been called for August 27, to vote upon a $10,000 bond issue for a concrete grammar school building. Two districts will be combined, which will enable our town to have two teachers and one of the best school buildings in the rural districts.

George Friedemann is taking a vacation in San Bernardino this week.

Ten carloads of cattle were shipped out Monday from Pauba Ranch to a packinghouse at Los Angeles. Two carloads of horses were also shipped into the valley this week. Temecula is a big shipping point. H. Lewis of San Bernardino is working for Friedemann Bros. in the butcher shop.

Our postmistress Miss H. A. Welty it is reported will resign. It is rumored that she may discard single blessedness and become the bride of a prominent citizen. John Gibbs is an applicant for postmaster.

Charles Escallier saved the day in the ball game at Riverside last week when he played with the Portland Cement Company's team against Harlem Springs. When the score was tied in the last inning, Escallier knocked a home run, bringing in four runs and winning the game for Portland.

Mr. and Mrs. George A. Burnham are taking a vacation and are making a trip over Southern California in their touring car.

Mr. and Mrs. Machado attended the Indian Fiesta at Pauma Sunday and report a good time. Mac Machado says Supervisor Shaver will get over 75 per cent of the votes cast in the valley. Mr. Machado is working hard for Mr. Shaver and is doing affective work.

Mrs. Eli E. Barnett is visiting at Redondo. Eli E. Barnett has 4,000 sacks of wheat threshed and expects to get 2,000 more from 1,000 acres farmed last year. Mr. and Mrs. Adrian B. Barnett made a trip to Upland and other points the past week returning home Wednesday. Mr. Barnett's brother had the misfortune to have an eye put out by being struck with a piece of steel. It was necessary to cut the steel from the eyeball, which will likely result in the loss of the eye.

07/23/2024

As an FYI, the book and documentary go together. There is information contained in both of them that is not available in the other. I learned so much from both that I will be adjusting my Vail Ranch Headquarters Tour.

The 1846 Temecula Massacre is among the deadliest conflicts tied to the Mexican-American War. The sequence of events surrounding the Temecula Massacre illust...

07/23/2024

Looking for something to do during our cool summer nights? Take a Old Town Temecula Ghost Tour with your family or visitors. I have two specials during the summer months.

For more information, visit 👉 www.oldtowntemeculatours.com

07/23/2024

I love introducing visitors to Old Town Temecula. ❤️

👉 WHAT GUESTS SAY ABOUT MY TOURS

"I booked this for my husband's birthday, thinking it would be a pleasant 1-1.5 hrs and not expecting much. Boy was I wrong! It was one of the best tours we've been on! Dale, our guide, is a true historian with a real passion for what he does. He supplemented our walking tour with photos from late 1800's/early 1900's Temecula and the West, up until today. He's done so much research over the years and has tweaked his tour over and over to include any new information that has come to light. My husband, also a history buff, peppered Dale with all sorts of questions, which Dale graciously answered so knowledgeably! We were truly blown away by him as a guide and as a person. He's so kind and earnest, and genuinely tries to make a connection with you. I can see him being great with people of all ages, as he adjusts his pace to accomodate you and is able to discern what you're interested in.

NOW FOR THE GHOST PART...if you're a ghost hunter or ghost enthusiast, this is the tour for you! Dale has recordings and photos of some pretty hair-raising experiences that both he and his clients have experienced on his tours. My husband and I also partook in a pretty frightening experience -- I personally was pretty freaked out about what happened...and I'm not one to scare too easily. I think this part is optional -- but you should know it's there if you're into that sort of thing-hahah! Anyway, I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend!!! "

Jean L. - Los Angeles, CA

07/23/2024

AN INTRODUCTION TO LOUIS WOLF," THE KING OF TEMECULA"

Louis Wolf was born on July 27, 1833 in the area of Alsace between Germany and France. Having caught gold fever, Wolf emigrated to California in 1851. Arriving in San Francisco, he soon realized, as did many others, that only a few would become wealthy mining gold. Wealth lay in supplying the miners and others with goods needed for seeking out their fortune.

When Wolf arrived in the Temecula Valley, he worked for John McGee, who had a store on a hill just south of the Temecula River. This store also housed a United States Post Office that was established on April 22, 1859. Located at the junction of the Southern Emigrant Trail coming from Yuma to the east and a natural north-south road going from San Diego to Cajon Pass, the area was an ideal location.

Wolf's arrival to the Temecula area is believed to be in 1857. Records from a traveler show that on January 2, 1859, Wolf provided the traveler with lodging. In 1860, Wolf became a United States citizen at the district court in San Diego. On July 9, 1860 he was enumerated in the Federal census for Temecula Township and his occupation was listed as merchant. Interestingly, his surname was spelled "Wolfe" in the census.

In 1862, Wolf felt comfortable enough, financially, to marry. He took as his bride a woman by the name of Ramona Place (1848 – 1894), a woman whose father was from the West Indies and whose mother was a Chumash Indian. When they were married in 1862, Louis was twenty-nine and Ramona Place was fourteen. It is known that they had eight children with three dying before 1880.

What is known as the Wolf Store today was built by Julius Szubinski in 1867. The adobe bricks used in the building of the store were sun-dried not kiln-dried. To reduce the weathering of the adobe, the building was coated with a thin layer of plaster. In October 1867 Mr. Szubinski had been attacked by a group of outlaws in the area and died two months later. In 1868, Louis would purchase the “Wolf Store” and eventually the 2,233.4 acres of the Little Temecula Rancho.

With the closing of the Butterfield Overland stagecoach and mail route in 1861 because of the Civil War, the town of Temecula lost its post office. In 1870, a local stage line was awarded a contract to carry the mail and the post office reopened with Louis Wolf serving as the postmaster. In addition to being postmaster, he, raised cattle and sheep, contracted Indian labor to neighboring landowners and served as the justice of the peace.

The Wolf Store had six boarding rooms on the south side of the building that were made available to travelers passing through. These rooms were considered to be the first “hotel” in the Temecula Valley area.

Louis Wolf passed away on September 13, 1887 leaving his estate to this wife, Ramona, and his surviving children. Louis Wolf was known as the “King of Temecula” and died a wealthy man with an estate valued at $100,000 in 1887 dollars. Gold was worth just $16 per ounce then so his estate was considerable. Based merely on the value of gold today, his estate would now be worth approximately $15 million.

He is buried in a gravesite marked by a monument off of Loma Linda Road west of Pechanga Parkway. The monument is a raised brick sarcophagus and was restored by the Temecula Valley Historical Society in 2005.

👉 If you are interested in taking a tour of Vail Headquarters or Old Town Temecula, visit my website: www.oldtowntemeculatours.com

07/22/2024

NOSTALGIC BUMPER STICKER MESSAGES

By Rebecca Marshall Farnbach - Temecula Valley Historical Society

When I arrived in Temecula in 1988, people proudly displayed bumper stickers asking "Where the Hell is Temecula?" I wondered what that was about until someone pointed to an article in the forty-third issue of High Country Magazine, published in Winter 1977 by the Temecula Valley Museum.

According to the author of the article, James A. Brown, the saying was attributed to graffiti at the LA Zoo. Here's the story: at the end of January 1917, a cold winter storm came in and higher elevations took the brunt of the snow and freezing temperatures. As evening approached, Vail cowboys settled horses, including mares with newborn colts, in the barn on the Santa Rosa Plateau.

During the night, the men heard a ruckus and rose to check the livestock. They found large paw prints outside the barn, but no animal. In the daylight, they followed a bloody path to the carcass of one of the colts that had been dragged from its mother. A little farther down the path, they found a contented female mountain lion sleeping. The men interrupted the cat's slumber and hog-tied her.

Following the railroad tracks into town, cowboys lugged the cat between two wary horses, creating a spectacle viewed by everyone along the way. Mahlon Vail and the cowboys didn't have the heart to kill the beast, so they shipped it in a crate on a Santa Fe freight car to the LA Zoo. At the mountain lion's new home, its cage sported a label: "Sally, California Mountain Lion, donated by Mahlon Vail of Temecula, California." When Mr. Brown visited the zoo some years later, he saw a phrase etched next to the printed letters - "Where the hell is Temecula?""

While Temecula grew leaps and bounds during the 1980s, newcomers heard the same question time and time again, so it is no wonder the bumper stickers sold like hotcakes. Perhaps the ubiquitous stickers helped cement the name when the community voted for cityhood in 1989 and chose "Temecula" over the recently coined "Rancho California" as the name of our the city.

Recently, our board of directors thought it would be fun to bring back the bumper stickers. Now you can buy reproductions at the History Museum or Antique Store. Also, we made smaller, more child-friendly stickers that say "Where the Heck is Vail HQ?"

If anyone has a story to share about the bumper stickers, please send them to [email protected].

07/21/2024

Howdy folks! If you're not already, I would appreciate it if you would follow Old Temecula Walking Tours on my Instagram . Thanks a bunch!

07/21/2024

📰 100 YEARS AGO IN TEMECULA 📰

From The Lake Elsinore Valley Press

June 11, 1924 - John McSweeney of the McSweeney Farms reports their potato crop is looking fine and that the prospect for a bumper crop from the 575 acres is very encouraging at this time. Mr. and Mrs. V.B. Sands and son, Edward, formerly residents of Temecula, visited friends here Sunday. Mr. Sands is now in the car distributor's office of the Santa Fe at San Bernardino. Farmers in this section are cutting and bailing hay. Nearly all report a good crop, especially on the Vail Brothers Pauba ranch. J.O. Freeman, (ranch) foreman, reports acreage going over two tons of grain hay to the acre, and of good quality. The Temecula Valley Lumber Company received a large shipment of lumber last week. The company enjoys patronage from a wide trade area. The Vail Company recently received 12 carloads of young cattle from the Santa Rosa Islands. The mountain ranges in this section are offering good feed this year. Mr. Heath of Oceanside until recently, and formerly a resident of Temecula, has returned and will open a service station. Temecula fishermen have been after trout recently. Some report good luck, while others tell of the "ones that got away."

June 19, 1924 - Mr. and Mrs. Verne Spivey and family, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Walters and daughter, Peggy, and Roy Record spent the weekend fishing in Oceanside. Mrs. Lewis Powell has been visiting with friends in Alhambra. Miss Happy Burnham, and mother, Mrs. G. A. Burnham, are at Oceanside for a few weeks. Mrs. Mark Shipley and son, Tommy, were callers in Temecula Tuesday. Mr. and Mrs. Frank Burnham have as their guest their nephew, Burton Kimpton, of San Bernardino. Mr. and Mrs. W.H. Haynes were Los Angeles visitors on Wednesday of last week. Miss Mabel Nienke had as her house guests over the weekend Miss Catherine Waldup and Miss Bessie Maxon of West Covina. Mrs. W.T. Barton is in Los Angeles visiting her daughter, Miss Ethelyn Walters, who graduated last Tuesday evening with the class of 1924 from the Clara Barton hospital. Mr. and Mrs. F.B. Corgan, who were called to Santa Barbara a few weeks ago by the serious illness of Mrs. Corgan's brother, have returned home. They left the brother on the road to recovery.

June 19, 1924 - The people of the valley were grieved on Tuesday, June 10th to learn of the death of Mrs. Zemima Nicolas of French Valley. Mrs. Nicolas was one of our oldest and most respected pioneers and passed away after a lingering illness of two months. She was born in France in 1858 and came to the United States when a young woman. Her husband, Joseph Nicolas, passed away fourteen years ago. Besides a host of friends, two children, Mrs. Clementine Serval and Joe Nicolas both of French Valley and six grandchildren are left to mourn her passing. Funeral services were held in the Catholic Church of Temecula at one o'clock Thursday. Rev. Father Norman Raley of Elsinore officiating.

07/21/2024

On July 22, the Pechanga Cultural Resources Department will debut the long-awaited film "The Temecula Massacre". Following the screening of the film, Lisa L. Woodward, Ph.D. will answer questions about the tragic historic event. Pechanga's Great Oak Press will have copies of the companion book "The Temecula Massacre, A Forgotten Battlefield Landscape of the Mexican - American War" available for purchase for $24.95. The purchase will include a meet and greet and signing by authors Gary DuBois and Lisa Woodward.

The 1846 Temecula Massacre was among the deadliest conflicts tied to the Mexican - American War. DuBois' and Woodward's work reveals the sequence of events leading to the Temecula Massacre, illustrating a complex narrative of pre-statehood California. Although the Battle of San Pasqual is considered the bloodiest conflict of the Mexican - American War with only eighteen Americans killed, the Temecula Massacre a few weeks later claimed the lives of about eighty. The remains of the Natives killed in the ambush were put into a mass grave which is still honored near Temecula Parkway today.

DuBois and Woodward's work includes firsthand, previously unpublished accounts of the Temecula Massacre. This includes the reasons for the Californios' retaliation toward the Luiseno people, the aftermath of the ambush, and the effect it had upon the remaining Native people of Temecula.

Gary DuBois is an enrolled citizen of the Pechanga Band of Indians and is the Founding Director of the Pechanga Band of Indians Cultural Resources Department and the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer. He earned a Juris Doctorate from Washinton University Law School. He is a scholar of Native American History, The American West, and Constitution Law and is a lecturer in these fields at California State University San Bernardino. DuBois clerked for the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma Tribal Courts and was a Udall Fellow for the United States Senate Indian Affairs Committee. He is a veteran of the United States Army, serving over fifteen years in the Army National Guard with active duty from 2004 to 2006 as an infantry squad leader.

Lisa Woodward is Archivist for the Pechanga Band of Indians Cultural Resources Department. She earned her doctoral degree in Native American Studies from the University of California, Davis. As archivist, Woodward manages the tribe's collection of photographs, archival documents, ephemera, and sound recordings. While at Davis, as an undergraduate and later as a graduate student, she assisted in developing the J.P. Harrington Database Project, which assisted in providing Tribal Communities access to John Harrington's extensive collection of field notes on Native languages. She also actively conducts research for the Pechanga Tribe in the areas of Cultural Resource Management and Collection repatriation from institutions across the country.

The July 22 presentation on the Temecula Massacre will be in person only with no live streaming on Facebook. The presentation is hosted by the Temecula Valley Historical Society at 6 PM at the Little Temecula History Center located next to Kohl's at the intersection of Temcula Parkway and Margarita Road.