Editing Desert Hot Springs, California (section)

==History==
The only people residing in areas north of [[Palm Springs, California|Palm Springs]] before the 20th century were the [[Cahuilla people|Cahuilla Indians]] in the village of [[Seven Palms, California|Seven Palms]].<ref name="Hot Springs Historical Society 2014" />{{rp|27}} Although Cahuilla people never settled permanently in today's Desert Hot Springs,<ref name="Hot Springs Historical Society 2014" />{{rp|11}} they often camped here during winter times due to the warm climate.<ref name="Hot Springs Historical Society 2014" />{{rp|7}}

According to early homesteader and writer Cabot Yerxa in his newspaper columns published in The ''Desert Sentinel'' newspaper, the first [[Homestead Act|homesteader]] in the area of the city of Desert Hot Springs was Hilda Maude Gray, who staked her claim in 1908.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hildamgray.com/ |title=Hilda M Gray: Desert Hot Springs Homestead Pioneer |last1=Gray |first1=Dean M. |access-date=May 3, 2020|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130411033547/http://www.hildamgray.com/ |archive-date=April 11, 2013 |url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The History of Desert Hot Springs |url=http://www.dhshistoricalsociety.com/desert_hot_springs_history.htm |website=Desert Hot Springs Historical Society |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130121145926/http://www.dhshistoricalsociety.com/desert_hot_springs_history.htm |archive-date=January 21, 2013}}</ref>{{cbignore|bot=InternetArchiveBot}}
Cabot Yerxa arrived in 1913 and soon discovered the hot water aquifer on Miracle Hill. Due to the Mission Creek Branch of the [[San Andreas Fault#Southern|San Andreas Fault]] bisecting the area, one side is a cold water aquifer, the other has a hot water aquifer. His large [[Pueblo Revival Style architecture]] structure, [[Self-build|hand built]] over 20 years, is now one of the oldest adobe-style buildings in Riverside County and houses [[Cabot's Pueblo Museum]], designated a state historical site after his death in 1965. Cabot's Trading Post & Gallery opened there in February 2008.

The town was founded by L. W. Coffee on July 12, 1941. The original town site was centered at the intersection of Palm Drive and Pierson Boulevard and was only one square mile. Coffee chose the name Desert Hot Springs because of the area's natural [[hot springs]].

[[File:This Natural Hot Mineral Water Pool is maintained at about 95 degrees with a constant flow of approximately 125 gallons a minute (80817).jpg|thumb|upright|1950s postcard promoting tourism]]

Desert Hot Springs became a [[tourist destination]] in the 1950s because of its small [[spa]] hotels and [[boutique hotel]]s. The city is popular with "[[snowbird (people)|snowbirds]]."<ref name="Hot Springs Historical Society 2014" />{{rp|8}} Realtors arrived to speculate, and thousands of lots were laid out over a six-square mile area. Some homes were bought by retirees, and the area was incorporated as a city in 1963, with 1,000 residents.

Desert Hot Springs experienced periods of significant growth in the 1980s and 1990s when most of the vacant lots were filled with new houses and duplex apartments. The city's population doubled in the 1980s and increased by 5,000 in the 2000 census.

Desert Hot Springs was the first city in Southern California to legalize medical marijuana cultivation and has since been overwhelmed by marijuana developers and growers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-marijuana-cultivation-20160510-story.html|title=This California desert town is experiencing a marijuana boom|first=Paloma|last=Esquivel|date=May 10, 2016|access-date=July 14, 2017|via=LA Times}}</ref> It was later featured in a CNBC special as California's first city to permit the commercial cultivation of marijuana in 2014.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.desertsun.com/story/life/entertainment/television/2017/08/07/desert-hot-springs-featured-cnbc-marijuana-special/547112001/|title=Desert Hot Springs to be featured in CNBC marijuana special |work=[[The Desert Sun]] |access-date=February 6, 2019}}</ref>