Legend has it that Rex Clark won fifteen square miles of failed farms, rutted roads and broken water mains in a poker game. Using his wife's newspaper fortune, Clark tried orchards and then poultry. Local hot springs inspired Clark's creation of a giant recreational resort. U.S. presidents and Hollywood royalty sojourned at the fabulous Norconian until the Great Depression hit. The spa was converted to U.S. Naval Hospital #1 during World War II and then a top Cold War missile lab. Norco became a horse-raising enclave while staving off annexation from nearby southwestern Riverside County cities. Today, the city is known nationwide as HorseTown, USA. Join former mayor Kevin Bash and his coauthor daughter Angelique Bash for this engaging trail ride through Norco's colorful past.
Kevin Bash is a professional actor, writer, and director, and a former mayor of Norco. A longtime resident and business owner, Bash has compiled this narrative of interviews, research, and photos to preserve Norco's history. Angelique Bash is a graduate of the University of San Diego and has been active as a reporter for both the USD Newspaper and news station. An accomplished filmmaker, her film, "The Triumph and Tragedy of the Norconian," was a History Channel Award Winner.