[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 54 (Thursday, April 3, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E677-E678]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             SAN JACINTO, CA CELEBRATES 115 YEARS AS A CITY

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                            HON. JERRY LEWIS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 3, 2003

  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I would like today to 
congratulate the citizens and community leaders of the city of San 
Jacinto, CA, who on April 9, 2003 will celebrate 115 years of cityhood. 
I am happy to report, Mr. Speaker, that the friendly folks in San 
Jacinto have managed to preserve their past while preparing for a 
future as one of the fastest growing cities in California.
  The San Jacinto Valley is in Riverside County, California, about 90 
miles southeast of Los Angeles, in the shadow of 10,804-foot Mt. San 
Jacinto and the beautiful surrounding mountains. For thousands of years 
it has welcomed human habitation, including the ancestors of the Soboba 
Indians, whose reservation is adjacent to the current city of San 
Jacinto.
  When Spanish explorers moved into California, they soon discovered 
the valley and by the 1770s it was a stop on Anza Trail, one of the 
oldest serving the Spanish colonies in California. The padres of the 
Spanish missions named the valley in honor of St. Hyacinth (San Jacinto 
in Spanish), one of the early Dominican apostles, and established an 
outpost there in 1820.
  In 1842, Jose Antonio Estudillo received a land grant to the entire 
valley from the Mexican government. They built the Estudillo Mansion in 
downtown San Jacinto, which is today considered one of the most 
important historic structures in inland Southern California. In the 
1860s, the Estudillo family began selling off portions of the rancho, 
and a small American community began to form. In 1868, local residents 
petitioned to form a school district, and by 1870 a store and post 
office had been established. In 1883, the San Jacinto Land Association 
laid out the modem city of San Jacinto at Five Points. The Santa Fe 
railroad arrived in 1888, and the city was incorporated that same year, 
making it the oldest incorporated community in Riverside County.
  The community has primarily been an agricultural town for much of its 
history, and is still home to several large dairy operations. It has 
also worked closely with the neighboring city of Hemet to sponsor the 
famous Ramona Pageant, an outdoor play on early California history that 
is now in its 80th year. Most recently, the city has seen the 
beginnings of

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rapid growth because it is at the edge of the Southern California urban 
area. Community leaders are working hard to maintain their small-town 
community even as they plan for growth that is expected to nearly 
double the population of 26,000 by 2010.
  Mr. Speaker, I am confident that the citizens and leaders of San 
Jacinto will help their town continue to be a warm and welcoming place 
that combines a respect for the history of California with an eye to 
the state's booming future. Please join me in congratulating them on 
their 115th birthday, and wish them well in the years to come.

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