Wildomar, in Riverside County, is a thriving hamlet tucked in a valley surrounded on the west by a mountain range and on the east by undulating hills.
Its area is around 24 square miles.
A Little History
Wildomar is a blend of old and new, older homes and acreages with horses and other animals and newer housing complexes. Wildomar, located between Murrieta and Lake Elsinore, became a city on July 1, 2008, and was home to around 28,000 people at the time.
The name Wildomar was derived from the initials of its three founders: William Collier (WIL), Donald Graham (DO), and Margaret Collier Graham (MAR).
Wildomar had been an outpost for the Butterfield Stage Pony Express and, in the early twentieth century, a station for the Southern California Railroad. After the tracks washed out, the area’s growth slowed, and Wildomar remained an agricultural and ranching area, with several horse ranches. Wildomar was home to a number of important pioneer families.
The construction of the I-15 highway brought urban-type growth to Wildomar, resulting in a mix of urban and rural areas.
Incorporation Wildomar Now, generally known as WIN, lead the incorporation process.
Its headquarters were in a small, unassuming old structure near the intersection of Mission Trail and Corydon. It is one of the area’s oldest public structures.
It was formerly leased by the Wildomar Chamber of Commerce until it combined with Murrieta to become the Murrieta/Wildomar Chamber of Commerce; the building served the community in some capacity for almost 100 years prior to the merger. Originally located on Lemon Street, the building was relocated to its current position in 1895, which was chosen because railroad tracks ran behind the building. The structure was intended to serve as a train halt. When the railroad stopped running through Wildomar, the facility was repurposed. The Animal Friends of the Valleys and the Chamber of Commerce renovated the building in 1993. Since then, these two organizations have shared the building.
