Hell is a locale in

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Unit ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, approximately west of

Blythe The name Blythe ( or ) derives from Old English ''bliþe'' ("joyous, kind, cheerful, pleasant"; modern ''blithe''), and further back from Proto-Germanic ''*blithiz'' ("gentle, kind"). People * Blythe (given name), including a list of people named ...

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally pl ...

Geography

As befits its name to many people, Hell has a climate stereotypical of a hot desert (Köppen classification BWh). In the absence of a weather station at the site of the defunct town, nearby Desert Center will suffice. Average Weather for Desert Center, CA
/ref>

History

Hell was founded by Charles Carr in 1954. As of 1958 Carr, his wife, and their ten-year-old son Terry were the only inhabitants. Charles Carr served as the lone member of Hell's Chamber of Commerce. Hell was abandoned in the late 1950s or early 1960s when it was isolated by the construction of U.S. Route 60 and U.S. 70. Its remains were demolished and burned by the California State Division of Highways in late 1964 to make way for what would eventually become

. Before its demise, Hell had a service station, a beer tavern, and a good supply of drinking water.

Popular culture

Occasionally Hell was referenced in the press, typically in relation to the weather: *Columnist Art Ryon mentioned in his September 7, 1955, column in ''The

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' that on September 1 it was 110 degrees in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, yet only 105 degrees in Hell. *On October 17, 1958, ''The Los Angeles Times'' published an article, ''LA's Hotter Than Hell--Only 97 There'', when Los Angeles reached 104 degrees the same day. *According to a UPI news report, it snowed in Hell at least once, causing many to remark, "it was a cold day in Hell". *On 2015, an

bridge 9 miles from Hell collapsed, leading ''The Los Angeles Times'' to report that "It's not the pit of Hell, but it's close".Hole in California freeway: It's not the pit of Hell, but it's close
/ref> There were several roadside signs referencing Hell, including one near

Indio, California Indio (Spanish language, Spanish for "Indian") is a city in Riverside County, California, Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley of Southern California's Colorado Desert region. It lies east of Palm Springs, Califo ...

, which read, "100 miles of desert ahead--right through Hell". In her book, ''Riverside County, California, Placenames: Their Origins and Their Stories'', Jane Davies Gunther notes that Hell "was consigned to oblivion when the California State Highway Department bought it, rather than make an interchange for it, thus making it impossible for anyone to go to Hell in Riverside County".Gunther, page 228. A song entitled "Hell, Ca., Pop. 4" was featured on the 1990 album ''

Blackout in the Red Room ''Blackout in the Red Room'' is the debut studio album by the American hard rock band Love/Hate. It was released on February 22, 1990, on Columbia Records. It reached #154 on the ''Billboard'' 200 album chart. The video for the single "Why Do ...

'' by Love/Hate.

References

Bibliography

*Gunther, Jane Davies. ''Riverside County Place Names: Their Origins and Their Stories'', Rubidoux Printing Company, 1984. Library of Congress catalog number: 84-72920.

Citations and notes

Uncited references

* * Ryon, Art (Sept. 7, 1955). "Ham on Ryon". ''Los Angeles Times'', p. A5. * Times Correspondent (Apr. 4, 1958). "Rain? Even Hell Gets Inch Of It". ''Los Angeles Times'', p. 2. * Times Correspondent (Oct. 17, 1958). "LA's Hotter Than Hell—Only 97 There". ''Los Angeles Times'', p. 2. * "Sign Theft Raises Cain Near Hell". (Jan. 1, 1967). ''Los Angeles Times'', p. E4. * UPI (Dec. 7, 1964). "No more Hell, courtesy of Highway Dept.". ''The (Oxnard) Press-Courier'', p. 16. {{authority control Communities in Riverside County, California Former settlements in Riverside County, California Former populated places in California