Jan 23, 200608:11 AMThe Life

PS: the early years

The traditional Cahuilla Indian name for this area was Se-Khi ("boiling water").

In the early 1800s, the Spanish named it Agua Caliente ("hot water").

By the time John Guthrie McCallum settled his family here in 1884, it was called Palm Springs. There were 76 Native Americans living in town at that point.

McCallum started buying up land and later organized "The Great Auction," on November 1, 1887. 137 parcels were sold, and the Village's growth seemed well on its way. But in 1893, disaster struck. First, it rained for 21 days straight, resulting in the Big Flood.

And when it stopped raining, it really stopped raining... for eleven long years of drought.

Less than a dozen of the new settlers stuck it out.
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"Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night." --Bette Davis, in All About Eve, written by Joseph L. Mankiewicz