ENMS HISTORY

Originally built as Southern California Athletic and Country Club in 1924. The Club was meant to cater to the wealthy and famous personalities of the 1920s. Although the facilities were completed, the Country Club never opened due to financial problems and the coming Depression. The property originally was composed of over 200 acres and included a golf course, tennis courts, cottages by the lake and a marina. NEW INFO I have just recieved from Rose Wurtz, Secretary/Treasurer for ENMS Inc. an article dated Oct. 19, 1924 that details the new Southern California Athletic and Country Club. The ground floor (our mess hall floor) was to contain the grill, reception room, rest rooms and billiard rooms. The room directly beyond the Lobby was to be the Great Hall and Ballroom. Many of you will recall this area as part of the Junior School. The other Junior School room to the north of the Great Hall was to be the Dining Room and claims made that 500 people could be served there and another 200 in the Grill. The second floors were to contain single rooms as well as three and four room suites accomodating sleeping for 100 guests. A 500 foot Pier was also planned in an L-Shape as anchorage for watercraft. A garage was planned to offer storage and repairs for up to 100 automobiles with additional parking for 500. Cottages were also planned for the Club Manager and other employees. Plans at the time of this article called for the Club to open in May, 1925.

Glenn Conklin was employed at the Pacific Military Academy in Culver City California (picture on right )and one of his close friends was a banker in Culver City. Through conversation his friend found that Mr. Conklins dream was to own and run his own Military Academy. Unknown to Mr. Conklin his friend researched available properties on his behalf and found that the Southern California Athletic and Country Club was on the market and available. He approached Mr. Conklin and suggested that he look into the feasability of acquiring the property. One look and Glenn Conklin could visualize his dream becoming a reality. It is unknown at this time how much the cost was to acquire the school property but I hope to have that information soon. Considering the Depression economy, one would think that the price that Mr. Conklin paid was a good price indeed. Consequently, Glenn Conklin bought the property which comprises 21.17 acres in the early 30s with the express intent of establishing a military school. Corporate filing was made on July 29, 1933 and Elsinore Naval Academy was incorporated as a school the same year.

Sometime during it's lifetime the school name was changed to Elsinore Naval and Military School and operations continued with the school finally closing it's doors in 1977. A fire ravaged the Lobby sometime in the 1970s but the school was already in decline. The old classrooms on the North end of the property burned as well, date unknown. In the early 1940s enrollment was on the upswing after the attack on Pearl Harbor which led us into WWII. At that time the school even had it's own dairy farm. Worthy of note is the fact that Col. Conklin at one time owned the lake itself. Possably the entire valley. The lake was sold on April 23, 1955 to the Lake Elsinore Park Board for the sum of $55,000.00. Sons of some notable people have attended the school through the years. Bela Lugosi,Brian Keiths and Barbara Rush' were just a few. We've also been informed that Dixie Dunbar and Spencer Tracys wife (Kate Hepburn?) frequently played polo at the school as well as attended many of the parades in the '40s and '50s.

A brief History of Lake Elsinore

Incorporated in 1888, Lake Elsinore was originally founded by Franklin Heald, Donald Graham and William Collier. It was named by Margaret Graham, Donalds wife, after a town in Shakespeare's play, Macbeth. The Pai-ah-che Indians called it Etengvo Wumoma. They found the area ideal for their villages as water sources and game were plentiful. Spanish explorers named the area La Laguna, and on January 7, 1844 a land grant was given to Julian Manriquez for the entire area called Rancho La Laguna. When California became a state in 1849, the area passed into the hands of a man named Abel Stearns who in 1858 sold it to Augustin Machado. It remained in the Machado familiy until 1883, when it was parceled and sold to developers. The lake itself has had a turbulant history. Relying solely on runoff from the San Jacinto and Ortega mountains, it has been dry several times in recorded history. But with the addition of a levee and water management projects, the lake level now seems to be stabilized. Another interesting note is that a Butterfield Stage stop from the late 1800s adjoined the school property on the North.

MISSING LINKS *UPDATED*

Throughout the history of Elsinore Naval and Military School, there surely have been many changes. From the original 1936 photos, you see that additions of the classrooms, gym, as well as Conklin Hall which was built about the same time as the faculty quarters. When the additions, or deletion of buildings is not known. There is a picture in the slide show that shows the rear of the main building with no pool and is undated. Another dated 1937 shows the recently completed pool. Believe it or not, most of the digging for the pool was done by Cadets. And luckily not for discipline purposes. Among former students and faculty the answers to many questions must lie. It is our hope that we may soon fill in many of the blank spaces in our schools history. If you have ANY information in regards to the schools history, please contact us. And thank you for visiting this tribute page to our Alma Mater.

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