Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma

Murrieta Hot Springs beckons visitors to relax

From time immemorial, the Murrieta Hot Springs resort has beckoned visitors to its mineral-rich waters for recreation, relaxation, rejuvenation and reflection. Some of the world's least-known individuals have stopped to soak in the mud, washed laundry and cleaned baths there, while some of the world's most well-known musicians and comedians have performed at the special property.

Going way back in time, Churúkunuknu $akiwuna, as the Luiseño people call the Murrieta Hot Springs, was visited by Wúyoot, who, their creation account says was one of the first people. Wúyoot provided food, taught the people how to live and gave them ceremonies. After Wúyoot was poisoned, he traveled to several local hot springs in an attempt to be cured. Churúkunuknu $akiwuna, the Murrieta Hot Springs, was the fifth spring he visited before the last, 'Iténgvu, Wumówmu at Lake Elsinore. He died and was cremated.

A long time later, when non-Native people entered the Temecula Valley, they recognized the curative and cleansing powers of the bubbling hot mineral spring waters. Juan Murrieta, who owned the property called it the "Murrieta Hot Springs." Murrieta's wool sold for a better price when he bathed his sheep in the springs before shearing. Visitors started to come to bathe in the springs in hopes to heal their arthritis, bursitis and other afflictions. San Diegan Alonzo Horton promoted it as a "fountain of youth."

The property slowly turned into a world-class health spa resort after Fritz Guenther bought acreage surrounding the springs in 1902. Clientele, especially Jewish people familiar with European spas, came by train for long luxurious vacations at the resort, where service staff catered to their whims. They escaped pressures of everyday life by relaxing in bubbling mineral springs, swimming in the pools and lounging in mud baths filled with mud cut from nearby bogs. They played miniature golf, badminton and tennis and rode horses. Dining tables were laden with food served accompanied by libations that were available even during Prohibition. In the evening, people danced and played pool or cards. Accommodations were posh, and the entertainment was glorious, from ragtime to big bands, according to the era.

During the heyday of the resort, Guenther drove his motorized bus to the Murrieta train station twice a day to pick up visitors. He housed them in his three large hotel buildings that replaced the original tent city. Famous entertainers and athletic icons frequented the resort. Many old-time Murrieta families drew income from employment as waiters, musicians, chambermaids, laundry maids, dishwashers, cooks, barbers, desk clerks, pool guards, butchers, dairymen, gas station attendants, accountants or mechanics.

Local teams competed in the resort's baseball field, and in 1911, The Los Angeles Angels stayed at Guenthers Murrieta Hot Springs for their spring training.

Things changed after World War II. Americans opted to take long car trips with their families touring the U.S., staying in campgrounds or motels. The Guenther family sold the property after owning it for 68 years to Irvin J. Kahn in 1970. Kahn, who had ties with the Teamsters union, and his co-owner Morris Shenker constructed the mobile home park on the hills above the resort. They renovated the traditional family resort and marketed it as a recreational spa and hosted golf and tennis tournaments. They developed the freshwater lake and built condominiums where notables like Jimmy Hoffa stayed.

When Irvin Kahn died unexpectedly, the property went through several owners with limited financial successes. A Dr. Mudd, a Baptist preacher, opened a cancer clinic there in 1975, treating patients with lemon juice and water until his fraud was exposed by Mike Wallace in his investigative TV program "60 Minutes" in 1978.

Alive Polarity purchased the resort in 1983. They offered vegetarian meals, steam baths, mud baths and soaks in mineral water as detoxification for wellness. The group, considered a cult, fell apart, and when they sold the property, it was nearly empty. Shakespeare's Bar & Grill and a chiropractic clinic occupied buildings in the interim.

The grounds, buildings and pools fell into disrepair until Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa purchased it and renovated it for use as a Bible college and conference center in 1995. They cleaned up the property and shored up the buildings, bringing the property back to its former glory and spending $38 million in its renovation. Recently, the COVID-19 pandemic brought their conference center income to a screeching halt and students could not stay on campus.

So now, the Murrieta Hot Springs is once more for sale and in transition. Who will buy the beautiful 43-acre site? A university or a world-class motel and spa? The property is a gleaming treasure for our valley. I hope it will be sold quickly to someone who appreciates it and will take care so it will not be left to deteriorate again.

To see over 100 historical photographs of Murrieta Hot Springs, check out "Images of America: Murrieta Hot Springs," a book I co-wrote with Tony Guenther, Marvin Curran and Loretta Barnett.

Rebecca Marshall Farnbach is an author and co-author of several history books about the Temecula area. The books are available for purchase at the Little Temecula History Center or online from booksellers and at http://www.temeculahistoricalsociety.org. Visit her Amazon author page at http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B01JQZVO5E.

 

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