Murrieta, California, United States

🇺🇸 Murrieta is a city in south-western Riverside County, California, United States. Murrieta is one of the fastest-growing cities in the state. Largely residential in character, Murrieta is typically characterised as a bedroom community. Murrieta is located in the centre of the Los Angeles-San Diego mega-region.

History For most of its history, Murrieta was not heavily populated. On June 9, 1873, Domingo Pujol, Francisco Sanjurjo, and Juan and Ezequiel Murrieta purchased the Rancho Pauba and Rancho Temecula Mexican land grants, comprising 52,000 acres (210 km²) in the area. Ezequiel returned to Spain and turned the land over to his younger brother, Juan Murrieta (1844–1936), who brought 7,000 sheep to the valley in 1873, using the meadows to feed his sheep. The partnership dissolved in 1876 and Ezequiel and Juan Murrieta retained 15,000 acres of the northern half of the Temecula Rancho. Ezequiel and Juan Murrieta granted a right-of-way, one hundred feet wide to the California Southern Railroad through the Temecula Rancho on April 28, 1882 so that the railroad could be constructed through the valley.

In 1884, the Temecula Land and Water Company purchased about 14,500 acres from Juan Murrieta and mapped a townsite along the California Southern Railroad. Others discovered the valley after the construction of a depot in 1887 that connected Murrieta to the Southern California Railroad's transcontinental route. By 1890, some 800 people lived in Murrieta. Today much of the site (about 50 acres) is home to a Bible college and conference centre, owned by Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, which has invested millions of dollars into restoring and rebuilding the old resort rooms. When the trains stopped in 1935, tourists—the lifeblood of the town—were much harder to come by. The boom that Murrieta had experienced due to the train and the hot springs gradually died, leaving Murrieta as a small country town.

Although US Route 395 passed through Murrieta, it was not until Interstate 15 was built in the early 1980s that another boom began to take hold. By the late 1980s, suburban neighborhoods were being constructed, and people began moving to the Murrieta area from cities and towns in San Diego and Orange Counties, as well as other parts of Riverside County.

In 1990, residents began a campaign for city status which resulted in the incorporation of the City of Murrieta on July 1, 1991. By then the population was 24,000, a major increase from 2,200 in 1980. Between 1991 and 2007, the city's population further increased making it the largest city in south-western Riverside County.

Top employers According to a recent Financial Report, the top non-military employers in the city are: 1 Murrieta Valley Unified School District; 2 Southwest Healthcare System; 3 Loma Linda University Medical Center; 4 County of Riverside; 5 Target; 6 City of Murrieta; 7 Walmart; 8 Oak Grove Center; 9 Sam's Club; 10 Murrieta Health & Rehab Center.