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Murrieta's Farms and Harvests Residents of the fledgling community of Murrieta planted the valley in grains, vegetables and orchards in 1885-1887. Murrieta's soil was described in 1890 as well-adapted to diverse agriculture, with sufficient rainfall and artesian water supplies. Meadows were planted in wheat, barley, oats and alfalfa hay. Orchards yielded crops of apples, pears, stone fruits, quinces, and excellent cherries. Some grew oranges, olives, almonds and walnuts. Farms offered hogs, poultry, eggs, honey, vegetables, wool and hides. Murrieta farmers entered fruit trees in the San Diego County exhibit at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. Murrieta's pear orchards extended from Kalmia to B Street east of Washington Avenue; prolific springtime bloom was a lovely sight. Old-timers remembered how the 1918 earthquake sent waves of white blossoms fluttering to the ground. Hay and grain fields dominated the length and breadth of the valley, covering miles of rolling hills that now grow subdivisions. In spring, acres of fresh green fields rippled in the afternoon breezes. As summer ripened the grains, the fresh aroma of alfalfa filled the valley. In July, fields crawled with activity of combines, hay-balers and wagons. Before tractors, teams of 20 horses pulled farm equipment. Bert Baxter transported sacks of grain by horse-drawn wagons to the railroad after harvest. Murrieta offered a grain elevator built on old Clay Street next to the train tracks that handled up to 100,000 sacks per season from 1919 to 1983. After 1950, thousands of farmers left the valley to seek other work. Their fields became prime real estate for housing and businesses. The land where The Colony now stands was used for growing grain and cattle ranching up to the mid-1980s. Harvey Blackmore built a home by a creek running through rolling grassy hills where he ran cattle. The home was located near the junction of Jackson and Monroe Avenues. Now these hills are covered with Colony homes, and the creek runs to a city detention basin. John McElroy, a leader in city incorporation for Murrieta, farmed these hills until developers bought the land. The California Oaks Trail loops through this area, around marshes with a variety of wildlife and native plants. OUTREACH TO HISTORY By Lennie Martin | THE COLONY NEWS | SEPTEMBER 2022 | 11 Baxter grain sack transport operation 1890s. Photo courtesy of Murrieta Valley Historical Society. Harvey Blackmore home (looking northeast), with low hills behind that became The Colony. The mountain range in the distance now has the white cross (peak near right of photo). Photo credit: Marilyn Rail Taylor, courtesy of Murrieta Valley Historical Society. Murrieta grain elevator on old Clay Street, 1918-1983 Photo credit: Robert Vose, courtesy of Murrieta Valley Historical Society First combined grain harvester in Murrieta, 1894. Photo courtesy of Murrieta Valley Historical Society

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