Submitted by Jaime Becktel, LCPOA member.
For residents of La Cresta, here are the origin and meanings of some of our local areas. Taken from the book 1500 California
Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning
by William Bright
MURRIETA: Named about 1885 for the landowner John Murrieta. The name should not be confused with Joaquin
Murrieta, a name that was applied to several bandits active in Northen CA during the 1850's and that survives in the Joaquin
Murrieta Caves in Alameda, Co. After a man claiming to be the bandit was captured and decapitated in 1853, there arose a romantic
legend of Joaquin Murrieta as a Robin Hood-like figure.
TENAJA: From Spanish tinaja, "large earthen jar;" the term is often used in the southwest for a natural
waterhole.
LUISENO: Refers to a tribe and their language, which belongs to the Takic branch of the Uto-Aztecan
family and is spoken in Riverise and San Diego Counties. The term is Spanish, referring ton San Luis Rey Mission.
TEMECULA: A Luiseno Indian village here was recorded as Temeca in 1758, and as Temeco in 1802. The name
may be derived from temet, "sun."
WILDOMAR: Named in 1883 by combining the given names of the founder:
William Collier, Donald Graham
and Margaret Collier Graham.
ELSINORE: The name was given in 1884, after the Danish city that provides the setting for Shakespeare's
Hamlet.
CLEVELAND NATIONAL FOREST: Named in 1908 in honor of President Grover Cleveland, a week after his death.
PALA: From Luiseno paala, "water."
