The Egelund Family | Murrieta and Elsinore History

John and Mabel Egelund lived in Murrieta for ten years. During their residency, they were active in civic groups and the local schools. They were supporting members of the Episcopal Church. Mabel’s mother, Mrs. Julia Mcpherson, was a Murrieta librarian who operated the library out of her home. The Egelund family contributed much of their time and resources in support of Murrieta, Elsinore and other communities.

John Egelund was born March 5, 1884 in Oslo, Norway. He arrived in Seattle, Washington in 1911 and then traveled to Los Angeles. He attended and graduated from the Naturopathic Institute and Sanitarium of California in Los Angeles. Around 1912, he began working as a masseur for the Guenther’s Murrieta Hot Springs Resort. On September 12, 1918 he registered for the draft in Murrieta. He was described as tall, medium build, with brown hair and blue eyes. His nearest relative was Mrs. Marie Egelund of Christiania, Norway. Because the war ended two months later, John wasn’t drafted into military service. By 1920 he had purchased the Clarence North home in Murrieta and began making improvements. Later that year he became a naturalized citizen. He married Mrs. Mabel Bowman in December 1920.

Mabel was a widow and stenographer. She was born December 24, 1877 in Boone County, Iowa. She was the daughter of Charles S. and Julia A. (Barron) Mcpherson. After her father died in 1902, Mabel and her mother moved to Alhambra, California sometime between 1910 and 1913. John may have

met Mabel when she and her mother visited the Hot Springs. The Egelunds moved into a new home in 1922. It was located on the northwest corner at the intersection of Juniper Street and 2nd Avenue. A bathroom was added to the house in May 1928.

The next year, in July 1923, Mabel’s mother, Mrs. Julia Mcpherson, bought lot 7 in block 9, directly across from the Egelund home. She hired Murrieta carpenter Jack Hamilton to build her a cottage. It was completed by January 1924 when the Whist Club met and gave her a house warming party. The game of whist was a popular social game during the 1920s. The local club met often at the Mcpherson home.

Mrs. Carrie Bell Kimball, Mrs. Julia Mcpherson’s sister, rented the Shoup’s cottage in January 1923 and lived in Murrieta for a year. In March 1924, she purchased a home in the San Fernando Valley and left the

area. Less than a year later, Mrs. Kimball became ill and was admitted into a hospital in January 1925. During that time, Julia decided to rent her cottage to Mrs. Thayer, and move to Los Angeles for the summer to care for her sister. Mrs. Carrie B. Kimball recovered from her illness, but she died nine years

later from an unknown cause on October 22, 1934 and was laid to rest in Los Angeles.

Though the Egelund family had no children of their own, they were strong supporters of the local schools. In April 1923, Mabel Egelund was elected a school trustee for the Murrieta Grammar School and was appointed as board clerk. The school board met several times at the Egelund home to conduct

board meetings. She was re-elected to the board in 1924 and 1926 and she continued serving as the clerk.

Mabel was also involved in the Murrieta and the Elsinore P.T.A. groups. In January 1928, she was the president of the Elsinore Valley Council of the P.T.A., a regional organization whose purpose was to assist local P.T.A. groups. She also worked at the Murrieta Polling center during the elections. She

was a poll inspector in November 1926 and November 1928.

She was involved in other civic groups. Mabel was a member of the Rubidoux Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Riverside. Mabel participated in several DAR committees over the years. She was also a member of the Elsinore Woman’s Club. She served as club parliamentarian for several years. In 1929, she was appointed chairman of the club’s program committee.

John Egelund had befriended Dr. R. M. Peetz, a twelve year resident doctor of the Hot Springs. Dr. Peetz left the resort in 1923 and moved to Los Angeles to work in the Naturopathic Sanitarium. He returned to Murrieta often and was a dinner guest at the Egelund home.

In April 1926, Dr. Peetz, and Herman Waechter were dinner guests of the Egelunds. Waechter was a cook at the Murrieta Hot Springs. He owned the former Deering House for a short time before Roy Sawyer purchased the home.

Dr. Peetz may have introduced the Egelund family to Roy Sawyer. The Sawyer family of Los Angeles first visited Murrieta as early as 1923. They became frequent visitors at the Egelund home beginning in November 1926. Later Roy Sawyer purchased the former Deering home in February 1927 and moved his family to Murrieta.

John Egelund left the Murrieta Hot Springs Resort in 1924. He opened a massage treatment room in Elsinore on the corner of Franklin and Main next to the Creswell Bath House owned by Earnest Johnson.

Egelund advertised that he specialized in massaging, mud packs and electrical treatments.

In June 1927, a 70th birthday party for Mrs. Julia Mcpherson was held at the Egelund home. During that year, Mrs. Julia Mcpherson hired Roy Sawyer to build two additional rooms to her cottage. She then

rented her cottage to Harry Lewis and his family of Elsinore. Lewis had rented the Murrieta Garage from James Witcher. Julia then moved back to Alhambra for a year to spend time with her friends.

Mrs. Julia Mcpherson returned to her Murrieta cottage by January 1929. She became the Murrieta librarian and had a circulating library in her home. Julia and Mabel would travel to Riverside and pick up books from the main county branch and bring them to Murrieta. If there were specific books Murrieta

readers wanted, Julia would take their requests to Riverside in order to acquire them. When she was sick in December, the library was closed, and books were returned to the Egelund home.

Rev. Robert M. Hogarth of Hemet visited with the Murrieta Episcopalian congregation in February 1929. He shared his vision of constructing a permanent church building in Murrieta. The next month he had dinner at the Egelund home. In May, a vestry meeting was held at Edward Greenfield’s Temecula

home to discuss the plans for the church building. Greenfield, the cashier for the First National

Bank of Temecula was a strong supporter of the church. After the meeting Rev. Hogarth had dinner at the Egelund home.

A meeting was held at the M. W. Thompson home in June. It was decided that the Murrieta church would be built on a lot next to the Urban Tarwater residence. Later that month, the Egelunds were invited to have dinner at Rev. Hogarth’s Hemet home. In June, Rev. Hogarth and the church architect, Rev. M. K. Crawford of Hollywood, were dinner guests at the Egelund home.

The Trinity Episcopal Church was completed in September 1929. The first service was held on September 15th. Less than a month later, Edward Greenfield died on October 6, 1929. His funeral was the first held in the new church building. John Egelund was appointed warden of the church, filling

Greenfield’s vacancy to ensure continued operation of the church during the vicar’s absence.

On November 24th, the church was consecrated by the Rt. Rev. W. Bertrand Stevens, Bishop of Los Angeles. Seventy-five people were in attendance including a few Murrieta charter members. The Elsinore congregation, which had been meeting at parishioners’ homes, also attended the service. The

next month the Egelunds held a Christmas party for the Trinity Sunday School children on December 23, 1929.

Dr. James L. M. Cope, a chiropractor who had worked with John Egelund at the Creswell Bath House in Elsinore for several years, had dinner with the Egelunds in January 1930. Cope and Egelund formed a

business partnership in order to acquire the Briner Bath House. They purchased the property for

$12,500 in February 1930.

George M. Briner began construction of the bathhouse in February 1928. It was located at the intersection of Riley Street and Sumner Avenue in Elsinore. The one story building cost $10,000 to construct and $10,000 in equipment was purchased for the bathhouse. Two months later, Earnest Johnson leased the Briner Bath House for five years. However, the facility was poorly constructed and

Johnson broke the lease after a few months. Costly repairs were made and then the bathhouse was leased to a new tenant. When Cope and Egelund purchased the property, they renamed it the Elsinore Hot Springs.

At the end of January, John and Mabel Egelund, and Mrs. Julia Mcpherson announced that they were moving to Elsinore. Though they moved out of the community, they continued to visit their friends in

Murrieta and Temecula. John Egelund then rented his Murrieta home to Mr. and Mrs. Max Thompson.

Once settled, the Egelunds volunteered their time and service to the Episcopal church in Elsinore. Rev. Hogarth had begun making plans to build another permanent church building. In February 1930, construction began on the Elsinore Episcopal church. It was completed within six months. The Egelunds attended the consecration service of the new church on September 7, 1930. The church was named St. Andrew-by-the-Lake.

In 1941, the church decided to build a parish house. John Egelund was appointed chairman of the building program. In January 1950, he was re-appointed chairman during the construction of the parish

hall.

When Mrs. Julia Mcpherson’s health began to decline in 1935, she moved to Oceanside for the summer. She returned to Lake Elsinore and lived two more years before she died in June 1937 at her daughter’s home in Lake Elsinore. Mabel transported her mother’s body by train to Boone Couny, Iowa where Mrs. Mcpherson was laid to rest beside her husband in the Boone Cemetery.

Dr. James L. M. Cope surprised his friends when he married Mrs. Agnes Hicks in Salinas, California in January 1935. Five years later Dr. Cope died on February 8, 1940. Mrs. Agnes Cope inherited her husband’s business interests. In 1942, she sold her interests in the bathhouse to John Egelund. Three years later in June 1945, John sold the Elsinore Hot Springs to Mr. and Mrs. Will Hawkes of the Gilman Hot Springs. He then took a three month vacation and enjoyed his retirement.

John Egelund was a member of the Masonic Lodge No. 289 in Elsinore and was elected worthy master in December 1927. Mabel Egelund was a member of the Elsinore chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star. In April 1950, she was awarded her 50-year membership pin by the Elsinore chapter.

“Mabel was initiated in Valley Chapter No. 6, Missouri Valley, Iowa, on April 6, 1900. On December 16, 1913, she demitted to Alhambra Chapter No. 193, Alhambra, California, where she served as worthy matron in 1920. On October 20, 1922, she joined the Elsinore chapter. During the 1920’s, she served for several years as treasurer and marshal . . .” (April 6, 1950, Lake Elsinore Valley Sun)

Mabel Egelund died at the Loma Linda hospital on December 11, 1952. John Egelund died less than a year later on October 8, 1953 at his Elsinore home. Their funerals were conducted at St. Andrews, and they were both laid to rest in the Elsinore Valley Cemetery.

Gunda Onstad, John’s sister, was living in Elsinore at the time of his death. She may have cared for him during his long illness and may have been the executor of his estate. Anna Torreson, another sister, was living in Norway at this time.

Today the Egelund Murrieta home is no longer standing, but the Mcpherson cottage remains. Two churches stand today thanks in part to the Egelunds’ support and patronage. John and Mabel Egelund should be remembered for all that they contributed to Murrieta and the local communities.

Murrieta and Elsinore History