Indian Wells, California
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Indian Wells is a city in
Riverside County, California Riverside County is a County (United States), county located in the Southern California, southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, its population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most ...
, United States, in the
Coachella Valley The Coachella Valley ( ) is an arid rift valley in the Colorado Desert of Southern California in Riverside County. The valley has been referred to as Greater Palm Springs and occasionally the Palm Springs Area due to the historic promine ...
. Incorporated in 1967, it lies in between the cities of Palm Desert and La Quinta. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 4,757. The city hosts the sixth-largest tennis tournament in the world, the Indian Wells Masters tennis tournament, presently known as the BNP Paribas Open. The Indian Wells Masters is one of nine ATP Masters 1000 tournaments operated by the
Association of Tennis Professionals The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) is the governing body of the men's professional tennis circuits – the ATP Tour and the ATP Challenger Tour. It was formed in September 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to p ...
, and one of the four mandatory
WTA 1000 tournaments The WTA 1000 tournaments are a category of tennis tournaments on the WTA Tour, governed by the Women's Tennis Association. The old WTA Premier tournaments, WTA Premier Mandatory and Premier 5 tournaments merged into a single highest tier impl ...
of the Women's Tennis Association. It is held at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, which contains the second-largest tennis-specific stadium in the world.


History

The city derived its name from a historic Cahuilla Native American water reservoir, which served as a crucial water supply for nearby tribes. As early as 1820, the area now known as Indian Wells was the site of a thriving Indian village, as reported by W.P. Blade, a
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
geologist. A decade later, when gold was discovered on the
Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...
, William D. Bradshaw built a trail from
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
through the desert to the gold mines. The Alexander and Company Stage Line used the trail to transport prospectors and Indian Wells became an important stop along the trail. Competition from the
Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...
caused the route to be abandoned briefly in 1875 before being reactivated by the
Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with a significant global presence. The company operates in 35 countries and serves over 70 million customers worldwide. It is a systemically important fi ...
company the following year. Over the next decades, settlers gradually arrived in the area and
date palm ''Phoenix dactylifera'', commonly known as the date palm, is a flowering-plant species in the palm family Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet #Fruits, fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across North Africa, northern A ...
ranches became profitable. The area's first golf courses were opened in the 1950s at the Eldorado Country Club and the Indian Wells Country Club. In 1957,
Desi Arnaz Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III (March 2, 1917 – December 2, 1986), known as Desi Arnaz, was a Cuban-American actor, musician, producer, and bandleader. He played Ricky Ricardo on the American television sitcom ''I Love Lucy'', in whi ...
opened his Indian Wells Hotel (forerunner to the Indian Wells Resort Hotel). In 1960,
Arnold Palmer Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Since embarking on a professional career in ...
won the first Bob Hope Desert Classic golf tournament. President
Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...
was a regular Indian Wells visitor and later an Eldorado homeowner. In an election held June 27, 1967, to avoid being annexed by neighboring cities such as Palm Desert, the inhabitants of Indian Wells voted to incorporate as a city. On July 14, 1967, Indian Wells became California's 400th city and the 16th in Riverside County. Since then, Indian Wells has continued to grow, with the development of resort hotels, golf courses and luxury residential areas.


Demographics


2020

The 2020 United States census reported that Indian Wells had a population of 4,757. The population density was . The racial makeup of Indian Wells was 88.2%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.8%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.4% Native American, 2.8% Asian, 0.1%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 2.4% from other races, and 5.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.5% of the population. The whole population lived in households. There were 2,634 households, out of which 7.7% included children under the age of 18, 51.8% were married-couple households, 4.6% were cohabiting couple households, 29.0% had a female householder with no partner present, and 14.6% had a male householder with no partner present. 35.6% of households were one person, and 28.2% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 1.81. There were 1,544 families (58.6% of all households). The age distribution was 6.6% under the age of 18, 2.2% aged 18 to 24, 6.5% aged 25 to 44, 23.5% aged 45 to 64, and 61.3% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 69.2years. For every 100 females, there were 86.3 males. There were 5,140 housing units at an average density of , of which 2,634 (51.2%) were occupied. Of these, 82.4% were owner-occupied, and 17.6% were occupied by renters. In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $145,313, and the
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
was $142,360. About 1.4% of families and 3.9% of the population were below the poverty line.


2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Indian Wells had a population of 4,958. The population density was . The racial makeup of Indian Wells was 4,721 (95.2%) White (92.3% Non-Hispanic White), 29 (0.6%) African American, 20 (0.4%) Native American, 83 (1.7%) Asian, 2 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 52 (1.0%) from other races, and 51 (1.0%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 209 persons (4.2%). The Census reported that 4,952 people (99.9% of the population) lived in households, 6 (0.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 2,745 households, out of which 193 (7.0%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,519 (55.3%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 85 (3.1%) had a female householder with no husband present, 46 (1.7%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 85 (3.1%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 36 (1.3%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 944 households (34.4%) were made up of individuals, and 690 (25.1%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.80. There were 1,650 families (60.1% of all households); the average family size was 2.22. The age distribution was: 310 people (6.3%) under the age of 18, 76 people (1.5%) aged 18 to 24, 283 people (5.7%) aged 25 to 44, 1,558 people (31.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 2,731 people (55.1%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 66.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.2 males. There were 5,137 housing units at an average density of , of which 2,285 (83.2%) were owner-occupied, and 460 (16.8%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 5.1%; the rental vacancy rate was 15.4%. 4,251 people (85.7% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 701 people (14.1%) lived in rental housing units. During 2009–2013, Indian Wells had a median household income of $83,884, with 5.2% of the population living below the federal
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
.


Geography

Indian Wells is located at (33.715755, −116.341109). According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , comprising 1.85%, is water.


Climate

This climate is dominated in all months by the subtropical
anticyclone A high-pressure area, high, or anticyclone, is an area near the surface of a planet where the atmospheric pressure is greater than the pressure in the surrounding regions. Highs are middle-scale meteorological features that result from interpl ...
, or subtropical high, with its descending air, elevated inversions, and clear skies. Such an atmospheric environment inhibits precipitation.


Politics

Indian Wells is a largely Republican city. Since its incorporation in 1967, all Republican candidates for president and governor have carried Indian Wells, with the six Republican presidential candidates from 1968 to 1988, and the seven Republican gubernatorial candidates from 1970 to 1994 each carrying the city by a margin of at least 53 points. Even as both the state of California and Riverside County trended more Democratic from the 1990s onward, the Republican presidential and gubernatorial candidates have continued to carry Indian Wells by large, albeit smaller margins. The GOP also retains a very strong voter registration advantage in the city. As of August 30, 2021, there are 3,343 registered voters in the city of Indian Wells. Of these voters, 1,720 (51.45%) are registered Republicans, 868 (25.96%) are registered Democrats, and 557 (16.66%) are not registered with a political party. Indian Wells is one of three incorporated cities in Riverside County where the Republican party retains an outright majority of registered voters as of August 30, 2021, the other two being Canyon Lake and Norco.


Representation

In the
California State Legislature The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). ...
, Indian Wells is in , and in . In the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
, Indian Wells is in .


Notable residents

*
Desi Arnaz Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III (March 2, 1917 – December 2, 1986), known as Desi Arnaz, was a Cuban-American actor, musician, producer, and bandleader. He played Ricky Ricardo on the American television sitcom ''I Love Lucy'', in whi ...
† – singer, actor and developer * James G. Boswell II† – former CEO of the J.G Boswell cotton company * Robert "Bob" Cummings† – actor * Tony Curtis† – actor * Ernest E. Debs† – Los Angeles City Council member and Los Angeles County supervisor * Bob Einstein† – actor, comedy writer and producer *
Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...
† – former U.S. president and avid golfer * Don Fairfield – golfer * Howard Haugerud† – military pilot, diplomat, businessman and educator * Skip Homeier† – actor * Colleen Kay Hutchins† – former
Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 18 and 28. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is judged on competition segments with scoring percentages: ''Priva ...
* Jack Jones† – singer * Robert Kardashian† – lawyer * Charles Koch – businessman * Arthur Lake† – actor * W. Howard Lester† – businessman * Cargill MacMillan Jr.† – businessman† * Curt Massey† – musician * Joanna Moore† - actress * Charles Peebler† – advertising executive * Roger Perry† – actor * Robert Prescott† – founder of the Flying Tiger Line * Charles H. Price II† – businessman and former ambassador *
Gena Rowlands Virginia Cathryn "Gena" Rowlands (; June 19, 1930 – August 14, 2024) was an American actress, whose career in film, stage, and television spanned nearly seven decades. She was a four-time Emmy, Emmy Award and two-time Golden Globe winner, and ...
† – actress * Tommy Shepard† – trombonist and orchestra leader *
Kenneth Simonds Kenneth Wayne Simonds (May 5, 1935 – October 11, 2009) was an American businessman and philanthropist. Life He began his career in 1958 at IBM and was the youngest IBM manager when promoted to Green Bay, Wisconsin, Green Bay, Wisconsin. He lef ...
† – businessman * Ernie Vandeweghe† – physician, U.S. Air Force veteran and basketball player; husband of Colleen Kay Hutchins * Sam B. Williams† – inventor and businessman * John Wilson – golfer † Deceased


References


External links

*
The Desert Sun, Coachella Valley Newspaper
{{authority control Cities in Riverside County, California Incorporated cities and towns in California Bradshaw Trail Populated places established in 1967 1967 establishments in California