Hemet

The breathtaking San Jacinto Valley, with Mount San Jacinto on its eastern boundary, is home to the community of Hemet, conceived by two developers in the late 19th century. These San Francisco entrepreneurs built the Great Lake Hemet Dam, Lake Hemet, and the distribution system from the mountain lake to the valley, which provided a year-round water supply. With fertile lands and abundant water, people were lured from the East Coast and Midwest to purchase land and settle in the fledging town and on the farmlands around it. From its origins as a farm town, Hemet evolved as a retirement center and a bedroom city, as well as a bustling commercial hub. Along the way, it became the home of the world-famous Ramona Outdoor Play. Indeed Hemet prospered, and in 2008 more than 150,000 people live in the city and on surrounding lands.

Members of the Hemet Area Museum Association assembled this selection of historical images to display Hemet and its surrounding area's early, middle, and present development. Nearly all the pictures in this volume have come either from the museum's own photographic collection or from the Swift Collection, owned jointly by the museum and the Hemet Public Library.