OLD TOWN
HISTORY The Pechanga band of Luiseño Native American Indians were our first residents. They ran their hands through the soil, met under the Great Oak and stood atop the rolling hills overlooking the valley, naming it Temecula, or “sunshine through the mist.” Gateway arches at the northern and southern entrances to this downtown district commemorate our past. In 1859, in the era of the Butterfield Stage, the first U.S. post office was established Continued on page 18...
VAIL HEADQUARTERS
Although Old Town is the historic heart of Temecula Valley, the newly restored Vail Headquarters on Temecula Parkway gives history buffs another place to soak in our stagecoach-era heritage. Originally a trading post established by Louis and Ramona Wolf (Ramona was the Chugach heroine of the eponymous novel written in 1884 by Helen Hunt Jackson), the site would later become the headquarters of one of California’s largest cattle operations, owned by Walter Vail. The Vail Ranch was sold to developers in the 1960s. More than 40 years later, in 2016, Vail Headquarters reopened, thanks to the efforts of an active group of citizens who worked to restore and preserve many of the original buildings as a vital part of Temecula’s history. It now houses charming shops and cafes, a Tuesday morning farmers market, and an unmistakable air of days gone by. 16 I V i s i t Te m e c u l a Va l l e y. c o m
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