History of Palm Springs, California

Dubbed "Playground of the Stars", Palm Springs, California, has seen the likes of the very rich, such as William Randolph Hearst and the Vanderbilt families, and of the famous, such as Frank Sinatra, Shirley Temple, Clark Gable, and Lucile Ball. Palm Springs has for thousands of years been a source of life, health, and luxury. Set in the Coachella Valley, the mineral springs drew the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. They settled around the springs and, when the desert floor was too extreme, they followed comfort to the higher elevations of the canyons. First to arrive in 1853 were topical engineers who called the oasis, "Palm Springs"; a name that did not stick at first, but eventually would. They did not settle, nor did any non-Indian when the railroad was completed in 1877. Judge John Guthrie McCallum of San Francisco was the first to settle in 1884. The first hotel was constructed across the street from an Indian bathhouse. In 1909, Dr. Harry and Nellie Coffman opened the Desert Inn, which was utilized for treating those with tuberculosis. The Desert Inn later became a world-renowned hotel for the famous and wealthy. The first mayor, Philip Boyd, incorporated Palm Springs in 1938. From World War II to the 1950s, Palm Springs grew rapidly, building a museum, library, hospital, and a high school. The Agua Caliente Band was given 3,000 sections of land in the 1950s. As of 2000 Census, 42,807 residents live in Palm Springs.