Lured by the promise of rich gold ore in the nearby Tahquitz Mining District, Harold Kenworthy arrived in Hemet Valley (now Garner Valley) in 1896 to establish the mining town he called Kenworthy. It was a thriving community with a store, hotel, s…
Construction on Lake Hemet Dam began in 1891 and was completed four years later on October of 1895. It stood at 122.5 feet and was the largest solid masonry dam in the world. A title it held for sixteen years.
Building of the dam itself was not…