Lake Elsinore, California

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Lake Elsinore is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. As of 2006, the population was estimated to be 38,045. According to California Department of Finance the population of the city and its sphere of influence is estimated to be 54,656 in August 2006. It is the home of the Lake Elsinore Storm baseball club of the California League who play at the Lake Elsinore Diamond.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 History
4 Miscellaneous
5 External links

[edit] Geography

Lake Elsinore is located at 33°40′53″N, 117°20′43″W (33.681381, -117.345328)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 100.4 km² (38.8 mi²) of which 87.5 km² (33.8 mi²) of it is land and 12.9 km² (5.0 mi²), or 12.82%, is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 28,928 people, 8,817 households, and 6,877 families residing in the city. More recent, 2006 estimates place the population at 38,045. The population density was 330.4/km² (855.7/mi²). There were 9,505 housing units at an average density of 108.6/km² (281.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 65.61% White, 5.19% African American, 1.29% Native American, 2.05% Asian, 0.30% Pacific Islander, 20.33% from other races, and 5.23% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 38.05% of the population.

There were 8,817 households out of which 49.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.5% were married couples living together, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.0% were non-families. 16.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.27 and the average family size was 3.66.

In the city the population was spread out with 36.0% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 16.0% from 45 to 64, and 6.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 99.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $41,884, and the median income for a family was $47,563. Males had a median income of $41,692 versus $26,555 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,413. About 14.7% of families and 17.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.2% of those under age 18 and 12.1% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] History

Lake Elsinore was incorporated as a city in 1888 but was inhabited well before then. The lake was once a natural lake but went dry in the 1930s. In the early 1960s it was refilled. Since then there has been a continuous effort to keep it filled. Unfortunately there are no provisions to allow the water to spill out via a river, so the overflow must be diverted into the Temescal Canyon Wash. So when flooding occurs the lake overfills joining with all the sceptic tanks built very close to the waterline. In the 18th century when the lake was natural 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.

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.

[edit] Miscellaneous

Like many other large geographical cities, Lake Elsinore is divided into several smaller communities, such as: Downtown, Canyon Hills, North Lake Elsinore (Northshore), Tuscany Hills, Rosetta Canyon (Ramsgate), NorthPeak, Countryclub Heights, Alberhill (Ranch), Eastlake (Summerly), La Laguna Estates and its general area also includes portions of Wildomar, Cleveland Ridge, Lakeland Village, Sedco Hills, Canyon Lake, Horsethief Canyon and the Temescal Valley. It can take as much as 20 minutes to drive from one side of the city limits to another.

Lake Elsinore Diamond served as a site for the semi-pro football team, the Riverside-Elsinore Dolphins of the Western States Football League in 1996-98. The stadium now hosts the Banning-Elsinore Eagles of the California Football Association, a minor American football league. It may host the Murrieta Bandits, a professional soccer team in 2007, despite the team's office is based in Murrieta.

On a 1992 Sightings segment, a local citizen group of ten members from Lake Elsinore claimed to share or knew each other in past lives in 1863 Clarksburg, West Virginia. The paranormal television series claimed the small group experienced a rare phenomena called mass reincarnation. The story was covered on a hard-cover novel From Clarksburg to Lake Elsinore: A Profile on Reincarnation published in 1988, but since was out-of-print.^{[citation needed]}

Lake Elsinore Marketplace opened in 2006 provided much needed retail commercial center for the city residents. Some of the stores recently added to the Marketplace are, Lowes, Costco, Staples, Bed Bath Beyond, and Petsmart to name a few.