ANSWERS: 1
  • Lake Elsinore was incorporated as a city in 1888 but was inhabited well before then. The lake is one of the few natural lakes in Southern California, hence the San Jacinto River's course ends in a low, flat basin. It provided a spot for Spanish ranchers and American trappers to replenish their supplies. It was named Elsinore after the Danish city in Shakespeare's "Hamlet". Lake Elsinore was a popular destination in the first half of the 1900s for celebrities to escape the urban Hollywood scene. Many of their homes still stand on the hills surrounding the lake, including Aimee's Castle (Aimee Semple McPherson), a uniquely shaped house perched on a hill above the water. Despite its relatively small African-American population, it has the distinction of electing the first black mayor in the state of California. Tom Yarborough was elected in 1966, three years before Douglas Dollarhide became the mayor of Compton, CaliforniaCompton. Lake Elsinore's southern portion experienced several floods that destroyed a few homes and farms. Until the 2000s, hardly any structure was built on a five-square mile area reserved for marsh lands as the lake's surface expands and retreats. Rapid population growth altered the appearance and image of Lake Elsinore from a small lakeside town of 3,800 people in 1976 to a bedroom community of upper middle-class professionals. The city and its sphere of influence now has over 65,000 residents as of 2006 and formerly open hillsides have been converted into housing tracts. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Elsinore%2C_California

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