Crime Scene & Biohazard Cleanup Near Mapleton Murrieta, CA

Murrieta is a city in southwestern Riverside County named for Juan Murrieta, a Californio ranchero who founded the town; before that, the Luiseño people had the village of Avaa'ax where the city stands today.

In 1873 Juan Murrieta, his brother Ezequiel and partners purchased the Rancho Pauba and Rancho Temecula Mexican land grants, some 52,000 acres, and Juan began running sheep in the valley.

The Murrieta brothers granted a railroad right-of-way through the rancho in 1882, the Temecula Land and Water Company mapped a townsite in 1884, and a depot followed in 1887; by 1890 about 800 people lived in Murrieta.

Murrieta's early fame rested on the Murrieta Hot Springs Resort, which flourished in the first half of the 1900s; when the trains stopped running in 1935 the tourist trade faded, and the old resort site is now a Bible college and conference center.

Murrieta incorporated on July 1, 1991, already home to more than 24,000 residents, compared with only about 2,200 people in 1980.

Murrieta had a population of 110,949 at the 2020 census, up from 103,466 at the 2010 census, and it grew by 133.7 percent between 2000 and 2010, making it one of the fastest-growing cities in California during that period.

Murrieta has about 36,145 households, averaging 3.08 persons per household.

Murrieta covers 33.6 square miles at the junction of Interstates 15 and 215, is nicknamed the "Gem of the Valley," and functions largely as a commuter city for San Diego and Orange counties and Camp Pendleton.

Murrieta maintains 52 city parks, including three sports parks, two dog parks, two disc golf courses and an equestrian park.

Murrieta's Bear Creek Golf and Country Club was designed by Jack Nicklaus, and Presidents Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan have both played there.