Many of Riverside County’s canyons, mesas, creeks, and other geographic features are named for people who settled on, in, or near them in the early days of non-indigenous settlement. One of those features is Reinhardt Canyon, in the hills west of Hemet.

Reinhardt Canyon is named for Thomas Jefferson Reinhardt, sometimes spelled Reinhart.

Reinhardt was born March 27, 1841 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He spent most of his early life in Pennsylvania, mostly doing farm work. He married his first wife, Mathilda Reinsmith in 1862. The couple had four children before Mathilda died in 1876. He then married Amanda Hutton, and over the next 20 years, they had nine children together.

It was Amanda Reinhardt’s health that drove the family to Southern California.

According to Thomas’ obituary, in 1888 the Reinhardts moved to the San Jacinto Valley due to her health. This was a common reason for people to move to Southern California — many people suffered from a multitude of bronchial problems, such as asthma, bronchitis, and the much-dreaded tuberculosis. In the days before antibiotics, the usual treatment for such chronic cases was to move the patient to a dry, arid climate away from excessive moisture, fog, and freezing weather. With that in mind, the Reinhardts found themselves in the San Jacinto Valley looking for a place to settle.

There was lots of land still available for homesteading at the time. People like Thomas Reinhardt came west to stake their claim.

In the case of the Reinhardt family, that claim for a homestead was at the southern end of what is now Reinhardt Canyon, where Thomas secured 40 acres. For most of his time in the area, he is simply listed as being a farmer in the various censuses.

Reinhardt Canyon today is probably best known as the location of the Hemet Maze Stone, a petroglyph carved into a large boulder toward the north end of the canyon. Theories abound as to its meaning, but it was very important to the indigenous community in the area, and was interesting enough to the non-indigenous community in the 1950s to have it set aside and protected. It soon became the location of a small Riverside County park, which it is still today, accessible by foot from the end of California Avenue.

Thomas Reinhardt died on May 5, 1900, from injuries suffered in a fall from a runaway horse-drawn wagon. He is buried in the San Jacinto Valley Cemetery along with his wife Amanda.

If you have an idea for a future Back in the Day column about a local historic person, place or event, contact Steve Lech and Kim Jarrell Johnson at backinthedaype@gmail.com.