Hemet Public Library

Hemet is a city in the San Jacinto Valley in Riverside County, California. It covers a total area of 29.3 square miles (76 km2), about half of the valley, which it shares with the neighboring city of San Jacinto. The population was 89,833 at the 2020 census. The founding of Hemet, initially called South San Jacinto, predates the formation of Riverside County. This area was then still part of San Diego County. The formation of Lake Hemet helped the city to grow and stimulated agriculture in the area. The city is known for being the home of The Ramona Pageant, California's official outdoor play set in the Spanish colonial era. Started in 1923, the play is one of the longest-running outdoor plays in the United States. Hemet has been named a Tree City USA for 20 years by the Arbor Day Foundation for its dedication to the local forest. The city is home to the Hemet Valley Medical Center, a 320-bed general hospital.

Rancho San Jacinto Viejo was a 35,503-acre (143.68 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day Riverside County, California given in 1842 by Governor Pro-tem Manuel Jimeno to José Antonio Estudillo. At the time of the US Patent, Rancho San Jacinto Viejo was a part of San Diego County. The County of Riverside was created by the California Legislature in 1893 by taking land from both San Bernardino and San Diego Counties. The grant encompassed present-day Hemet and San Jacinto.

Hemet Valley Mall is a small indoor shopping mall in Hemet, California. It is located on West Florida Avenue (California State Route 74) between North Kirby Street and North Gilmore Street. It is anchored by J.C. Penney and Hobby Lobby, with one vacant anchor last occupied by Sears.The mall, which cost $10 million to build and opened on October 15, 1980, with 200,000 square feet (19,000 m2) of retail space. At opening it was anchored by a 50,400-square-foot (4,680 m2), $1.8-million Harris Company department store (later became Harris-Gottschalks in 1999) and a J.C. Penney, plus 40 specialty shops. Sears was then annexed to the mall in 1998 (relocated from standalone store.) Gottschalks closed in 2009 due to bankruptcy, which was first replaced by Forever 21, and later Hobby Lobby. Sears closed in 2020 as a plan of closing 40 stores nationwide.

East Hemet is a census-designated place (CDP) in Riverside County, California, United States, located east of Hemet. East Hemet is in an unincorporated area outside the city limits of Hemet. The population was 17,418 at the 2010 census, up from 14,823 at the 2000 census.

HAAAT - Hemet Academy of Applied Academics and Technology was a high school in Hemet, California. It served 180 students all throughout Hemet, San Jacinto and surrounding areas. The school is operated by the Hemet Unified School District. HAAAT - Hemet Academy of Applied Academics and Technology's mascot is the Gecko. HAAAT was previously located at 26400 Dartmouth St. The school has since been relocated to the former Santa Fe Middle School campus as of summer 2008. Students have been attending here this new campus since the 2008-2009 school year. This campus also hosts other programs, such as MSJC classes, a branch of the Advance Path Academics school, and Helen Hunt Jackson School. HAAAT closed in 2013 and was replaced by College Prep High School.

The Pochea Indian village site was the home of the Pochea Indians in what is now Hemet, California in Riverside County, California. The Pochea Indian village site was designated a California Historic Landmark (No.104) on March 29, 1933. The site of the Pochea Indian village is currently at the Ramona Bowl at 27400 Ramona Bowl, Hemet, California. The Pochea Indians lived in a small groups. These groups made up the indigenous peoples of California group called Pahsitnah. In 1774 the Juan Bautista de Anza expedition stopped at the Pochea Indian village during the expedition. Someone in the expedition had smallpox that was passed to a Pochea member. A smallpox epidemic broke out and spread. Those that did not die moved to the present day Soboba Reservation, home of the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians. Juan Bautista de Anza was the leader of an exploratory expedition on January 8, 1774, with 3 padres, 20 soldiers, 11 servants, 35 mules, 65 cattle, and 140 horses set forth from Tubac south of present-day Tucson, Arizona. They went across the Sonoran desert to California from Mexico by swinging south of the Gila River to avoid Apache attacks until they hit the Colorado River at the Yuma Crossing—about the only way across the Colorado River. The friendly Quechan (Yuma) Indians (2–3,000) he encountered there were growing most of their food, using irrigation systems, and had already imported pottery, horses, wheat and a few other crops from New Mexico.After crossing the Colorado to avoid the impassable Algodones Dunes west of Yuma, Arizona, they followed the river about 50 miles (80 km) south (to about the Arizona's southwest corner on the Colorado River) before turning northwest to about today's Mexicali, Mexico and then turning north through today's Imperial Valley and then northwest again before reaching Mission San Gabriel Arcángel near the future city of Los Angeles, California. It took Anza about 74 days to do this initial reconnaissance trip to establish a land route into California. On his return trip he went down the Gila River until hitting the Santa Cruz River (Arizona) and continuing on to Tubac. The return trip only took 23 days, and he encountered several peaceful and populous agricultural tribes with irrigation systems located along the Gila River.

The Ramona Outdoor Play, formerly known as (and still commonly called) The Ramona Pageant, is an outdoor play staged annually in Hemet, California since 1923. It is loosely based on the 1884 novel Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson.

San Jacinto ( SAN hə-SIN-toh, -⁠ jə-, -⁠ yə-, Spanish: [saŋ xaˈsinto]; Spanish for 'St. Hyacinth') is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. It is located at the north end of the San Jacinto Valley, with Hemet to its south and Beaumont, California, to its north. The mountains associated with the valley are the San Jacinto Mountains. The population was 44,199 at the 2010 census. The city was founded in 1870 and incorporated on April 20, 1888, making it one of the oldest cities in Riverside County. The city is home to Mt. San Jacinto College, a community college founded in 1965. San Jacinto will also be home to the eastern end of the Mid County Parkway, a planned route that would eventually connect it to the city of Perris. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, the city became a home to many dairies, and a center for agriculture. San Jacinto also is home to the Soboba Casino, a gaming casino owned and operated by the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians. The Sobobas are sovereign and self-sufficient in community affairs. They operate an Indian tribal school, the Noli Academy.

San Jacinto High School is the only major public high school in the city of San Jacinto, California. The other high school in San Jacinto, Mountain View High School, is a small alternative school located near San Jacinto High's campus. San Jacinto High is part of the San Jacinto Unified School District and is located on 17 acres (68,796 m2) on the southeast side of San Jacinto close to the border of Hemet. San Jacinto High, which serves all of San Jacinto, was founded in 1910.

Hemet High School is a public high school of approximately 2,500 students located in East Hemet, California and is part of the Hemet Unified School District. Hemet High is accredited by the WASC Accrediting Commission for Schools. From its founding in 1894 to 1965 the school was known as Hemet Union High School.

Area code 951 is a telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan for western Riverside County in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. It was assigned in 2004 to a new numbering plan area that was created by an area code split of area code 909.

West Valley High School is a high school that serves around 1,800 students on the western side of Hemet, California. The school is accredited by the WASC Accrediting Commission for Schools and also has become an AVID Demonstration School. The West Valley High School mascot is a Mustang.