ABOUT MENIFEE

The City of Menifee, California is located in the southwestern region of Riverside County, approximately 10 miles north of the City of Temecula and 30 miles south of the City of Riverside along Interstate Highway 215. The City of Menifee is roughly 50 square miles in size with a current population of just over 97,000 residents and is anticipated to reach 100,000 by 2022.

Incorporated on October 1, 2008, the City of Menifee includes the communities of Menifee, Menifee Lakes, Sun City, Quail Valley, and portions of Romoland. The Menifee Valley was originally called Paloma Valley, Spanish for the word Dove. "Dove Valley," also known as Quail Valley, was once a popular hunting destination in the early 1900s. The local area was originally inhabited by the Luiseño Mission Indians, specifically the Pechanga band. In the 1700's, the Spanish empire controlled this area and Pio Pico, the last governor of Alta California, Mexico once controlled this area. After the Mexican American War, the USA annexed California as its 31st state on September 9, 1850.

Thirty years later, Luther Menifee Wilson arrived to look for gold with little success. The Kirkpatrick and Newport families followed shortly thereafter. The Kirkpatricks owned the land where Menifee Lakes now sits. Near the corner of Newport Road and Menifee Road is Callie Kirkpatrick Elementary School, named after the matriarch of the family.

Farming, which began in the mid-19th century, was concentrated in the Menifee area. Mining began in the early 1880s with the discovery of a significant quartz lode by miner Luther Menifee Wilson, from which Menifee derived its name. Early development of the Menifee area began with Sun City in the early 1960s as the concept of an active retirement community envisioned by Del Webb, a building contractor from Phoenix, Arizona. Webb also developed Sun City, Arizona under the same concept. The community of Sun City is centrally located within Menifee with a mix of residential and commercial activities.

The Menifee Lakes area later grew during the late 1980s and into the early 1990s as a master-planned community. The lack of resources such as industry-oriented occupations and high-density retail and commercial businesses made many residents drive longer distances or to nearby cities, such as Temecula or Murrieta, to shop, dine and work. However, over time there has been substantial growth in Menifee with residential construction in close proximity to large parks and lakes, and fine amenities that have attracted many residents from the Inland Empire and Los Angeles County as a destination to live.

On June 3, 2008, the residents of the communities encompassing the Menifee Valley voted to incorporate to form Riverside County's 26th city, and the incorporation process was finalized on October 1, 2008.