Resorts of Riverside County, California (Postcard History Series)

For all the faults attributed to the San Andreas, its one very soothing aspect has been an enormous spiderweb of cracks spreading throughout the geologic formations of what became Riverside County. These fissures yielded springs and grottos of warm waters to which thankful pioneers and snake-oil salesmen alike attributed curative powers. In the 20th century, vacationers seeking relaxation, together with those afflicted with a myriad of maladies, came to Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs, Glen Ivy, Murrieta Hot Springs, and a dozen other wide places in the road to bathe in the balmy waters beneath desert breezes.

For this unique look at the world-renowned "hot springs" and other such singular Riverside County resorts as the famous Mission Inn, author Steve Lech has assembled more than 200 vintage postcards. A researcher and author of many articles on aspects of Riverside County history, Lech is the author of Along the Old Roads: A History of the Portion of Southern California That Became Riverside County, 1772-1893 and Arcadia Publishing's Riverside in Vintage Postcards.