French Valley is a region located in southwestern Riverside County, near the cities and communities of Hemet,
Winchester
Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...
,
Murrieta
Murrieta is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The population of Murrieta was 110,949 as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Murrieta experienced a 133.7% population increase between 2000 and 2010, ma ...
Plains of Leon
The Plains of Leon are named for the former gold mining town, Leon once located near the middle of the plain. It is a plain in the Perris Block, contiguous on the south with the Perris Plain including within it the Domenigoni Valley and western ...
, contiguous with the Perris Plain, that drains into the
Temecula Basin Temecula Basin is a sedimentary basin, which, along with the Aguanga Basin, is part of the Elsinore Fault Zone, in southwestern Riverside County, California. The Temecula Basin is a basin of down faulted Mesozoic basement rock, overlain by late C ...
Since the late 1800s, the French Valley was home to French grain farmers and sheepherders. After the Franco-Prussian War and the Alsace becoming German, many French-speaking residents fled to America. Among the early settlers of the French Valley were Auguste Giagnaire, Jean Labrucheie and Alexandre, Auguste and Calixte Vial, the Pourroys and the Nicolases. The train network eventually reached Temecula and Murrieta, but not the area inhabited by the French. The first use of the name "French Valley" occurred in 1913 in a California Conservation Commission report.John Hunneman FRENCH VALLEY: A storied past and still history in the making ''Sandiegouniontribune.com'', 20 April 2008
A traditional lifestyle was maintained until 1964 when the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California acquired 6,000 acres of land to build the
Skinner Reservoir
Skinner Reservoir, also known as Lake Skinner, is a reservoir in western Riverside County, California, located at the foot of Bachelor Mountain in the Auld Valley, approximately northeast of Temecula. It was created in 1973 by the construction of ...
that started operating in 1976. Many ranches were immersed in the new lake.
In 1989, the
French Valley Airport
French Valley Airport is a county-owned public-use airport in southwestern Riverside County, California, located on Highway 79 near the cities of Murrieta and Temecula.
In 2007, 702 acres of the French Valley were designated as a wildlife area by the
California Department of Fish and Wildlife
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), formerly known as the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), is a state agency under the California Natural Resources Agency. The Department of Fish and Wildlife manages and protect ...
Skinner Reservoir
Skinner Reservoir, also known as Lake Skinner, is a reservoir in western Riverside County, California, located at the foot of Bachelor Mountain in the Auld Valley, approximately northeast of Temecula. It was created in 1973 by the construction of ...
Murrieta
Murrieta is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The population of Murrieta was 110,949 as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Murrieta experienced a 133.7% population increase between 2000 and 2010, ma ...
as well as the 15 and 215 freeways. French Valley is also less than 15 minutes from the Temecula Valley Wine Country and Old Town Temecula. The nearby