JACUMBA SEEKS TO RECLAIM HISTORIC NAME

September 13, 2012 (Jacumba) – In its heyday, Jacumba Hot Springs housed a resort that drew Hollywood elite and tourists from far and wide.  But somewhere along the way, the official name got shortened to Jacumba. 

Now a group of Jacumba residents seeks to restore the original name. On Tuesday, County Supervisors voted to support the change.  Next up,  state and federal geographic name change commissioners will consider whether to formally approve the return to the town’s historic name.

“Mark Ostrander, myself and Ben Shultz of Desert Tower are key proponents of going back to the original name, Jacumba Hot Springs,” Danielle Thomas told ECM. “The train station has this name and half the parcels in town are recorded under this name.”

Her rationale is simple. “Tourists are much more likely to visit an unknown town when it has hot springs in its name. If tourists are traveling down Interstate 8 or looking on a map deciding what `day trip’ to take from San Diego, they may be intrigued by the name and decide to drop in.” The Jacumba Sponsor Group, or planning board, agreed and also approved restoring the original name.

Why was the name condensed way back when?  “Some say that the name was shortened when the freeway was put in to make it fit better on a sign,” Thomas said. 

Named for a “jacum” or hot spring, the town’s famed Jacumba Hotel once attracted movie stars such as Clark Gable and Mark Pickford, as did a bath house across the street.  The hotel burned down and the bath house eventually closed, though a smaller hotel with pool and spa heated by bubbling hot springs survived to the modern era.  Closure of a border crossing at Jacumba and construction of I-8 further drew traffic and visitors away from the town along Historic route 80. 

But recently, nearly half of the properties in the town’ including many in the historic district have been purchased by Dave Landman, owner of the De Anza nudist resort. He has dreams of revitalizing the town, including remodeling the now-closed hot springs hotel and perhaps even restoring the bath house. There has even been talk of restoring the old Carrizo Gorge railway someday. 

The community that came perilously close to becoming a ghost town is now working to attract new residents and tourists.  A years-long battle over an eye-gnat infestation has ended, with the farmer tossing in the trowel and shutting down operations after  his well water ran short.

There are plans to restore Lake Jacumba, once a popular fishing spot. A burgeoning artists colony has emerged in the Jacumba area and the town recently held an arts festival.  In addition, De Anza Resort held a “Nudestock” music festival in this high desert town, where the sun nearly always shines brightly.

Residents are brimming with hopes that restoring Jacumba Hot Springs as their town’s rightful name will be an important step towards restoring its historic heritage—and bringing newcomers to discover historic Jacumba Hot Springs.