Lake Elsinore was incorporated as a city in 1888 but was inhabited well before then. The lake is one of the few natural lakes in Southern California. It provided a spot for Spanish ranchers and American trappers to replenish their supplies. It was named Elsinore after the Danish city because of Shakespeare's "Hamlet". Lake Elsinore was a popular destination in the first half of the 1900s for celebrities to escape the urban Hollywood scene. Many of their homes still stand on the hills surrounding the lake, including Aimee's (Aimee Semple McPherson) Castle, a uniquely shaped house perched on a hill above the water.
Despite its relatively small African-American population, it has the distinction of electing the first black mayor in the state of California. Tom Yarborough was elected in 1966, three years before Douglas Dollarhide became the mayor of Compton.
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