10:00 PM PDT on Saturday, May 22, 2010

By MONIQUE R. HENDERSON
Special to The Press-Enterprise

When it comes to roots, San Jacinto has some of the deepest in Riverside County.

The city was founded in 1870 and incorporated in the spring of 1888, making it one of the county's oldest communities and also among the oldest in all of California.

The first Native Americans are believed to have settled in the San Jacinto Valley thousands of years ago. The Serrano and Cahuilla Indians arrived later.

The first Spanish explorers arrived in the early 1770s. In 1774 and 1775, Juan Bautista Anza led two expeditions from Mexico to the area. Around 1820 the Mission San Luis Rey established a cattle ranch in the valley, which they named San Jacinto, Spanish for St. Hyacinth, who ministered in Eastern Europe.

In 1834, after California shifted from Spanish to Mexican rule, the Mission San Luis Rey was taken over by the government and lands were divided and granted to private individuals. Jose Estudillo was granted a 35,000 acre rancho, which spanned most of the valley. Other family members also received grants nearby, giving the family control of about 110,000 acres in the area.

Jose Estudillo died in 1852 but his family continued to shape the area through the early 1880s. Two of his sons built brick mansions. One, built by Francisco Estudillo, is located at Main and Seventh Streets in San Jacinto and is a historical site.

The first American settlers came to the valley in the late 1860s, when the Estudillo family started selling portions of its ranch land.

By 1868, San Jacinto had grown into a small community. A school district was established in 1869 and a post office came to the area the next year.

A group of Los Angeles investors organized the San Jacinto Land Association in 1889 and acquired about 15,000 acres of the old ranch. This area became a second town less than two mile away from the "Old" San Jacinto.

In 1888, the "new" San Jacinto established by the Los Angeles investors scored a big win with the location of a Santa Fe railroad branch line in the community. Not long after "old" San Jacinto faded. That same year, the "New" San Jacinto was incorporated.

Farming, ranching and tourism all were important to the San Jacinto economy. Natural hot springs along the north side of the valley contributed to development, including several tourist resorts with hotels, cabins and bath houses.

The Estudillo Mansion, which is owned by the City of San Jacinto, continues to be a landmark in the city. The interior and exterior were restored as part of an extensive project.

Many locals and tourists alike have visited the mansion to learn more about the area's history and culture.