The City of Indio owes it's name to it's Native Indian heritage that goes back to thousands of years along what is known today as the Coachella Valley.
Indian translates to "indio" in Spanish.
The Native Indians spent their winters in the Valley and around the shores of what used to be Lake Cahuilla. A small part of it is known today as the Salton Sea.
The Gold Rush of 1849 brought a stream of prospectors , miners and settlers crossing the valley as an alternate safer route than crossing the Sierras. That drew the attention of Congress who wanted to expand the southern transcontinental railroad. In 1872 a site was chosen as a division point for the Southern Pacific Railroad. That site was Indio , and the first train from Los Angeles arrived in 1876.
The Valley's warm weather coupled with a rich soil due to the deposits of what was Lake Cahuilla and rich water aquifer turned Indio and its neighboring Coachella Mecca & Thermal into Southern California's agricultural capital.
Besides agriculture, Indio has been dubbed by the Chamber of Commerce as
"The City of Festivals". It is home of the Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival every February. The 2009 Festival is scheduled for Febuary 13 -22. Indio International Tamale Festival in December.
Southwest Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club In January.
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April.
Indio was the first City to incorporate in the Valley in 1930. It is 26 miles East of Palm Springs, has a size of 26.7 square miles with a permanent population of about 70,000, and seasonal population of 8,800.
Indio real estate has seen some amazing developments in housing and commercial developments.
Indio CA Public Golf Courses
