| Anza Valley | |
|---|---|
 A north facing view ofCahuilla Mountain from the Anza Valley | |
| Geography | |
| Location | California |
| Coordinates | 33°34′30″N116°42′03″W / 33.57500°N 116.70083°W /33.57500; -116.70083 |
 Interactive map of Anza Valley | |
Anza Valley, formerly known as the Hamilton Plains,[1] is abasin inRiverside County, California. It lies at an elevation of 4,157 feet (1,267 m), west of theSan Jacinto andSanta Rosa Mountains. Anza Valley trends southwest fromBautista Canyon, west ofThomas Mountain toTerwilliger Valley, 2.8 miles west-southwest ofTable Mountain and 12 miles south ofIdyllwild. It is drained byCahuilla Creek, atributary of theSanta Margarita River.[2]
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Anza Valley is named after the Spanish soldier explorerJuan Bautista de Anza who first passed through the valley on March 16, 1774, and again on December 27, 1775.[3] De Anza originally named the valley "San Carlos"; it was renamed in his honor from Cahuilla Valley to Anza Valley on September 16, 1926.[4]
In the later 19th century, Anza Valley was named after its early pioneer settler, Jim Hamilton, an African American man who settled there after he lost his land inButterfield Valley in a lawsuit over ownership of theRancho Pauba in the early 1880s.[5] Hamilton moved out to the lands of theCahuilla, where he and two of his sons continued to raise cattle at their ranch in what is now the Anza Valley, which was first known as theHamilton Plain.Hamilton Creek, originating east ofAnza still bears his name. Hamilton School in Anza was also named after him.[6] The school has been divided into aK–8 school andHamilton High School since 2006–2007.[7][8]
Hamilton was married to a Native American woman and had three sons. Two becameU. S. Marshals, and one was killed in the line of duty atSan Jacinto, California. The two surviving sons also married native women.[9]
33°34′30″N116°42′03″W / 33.57500°N 116.70083°W /33.57500; -116.70083