Perris laid out the townsite of Temecula in the 1800s and is also the namesake of the city of Perris
Craig Smedley, a California living history specialist, will dramatize the life of Fred Perris at the Little Temecula History Museum next to Kohls in south Temecula on March 24 at 6 p.m. Smedley, his wife, and family have lived in Murrieta since 1988.Smedley is presenting the story of Frederick Thomas Perris, the civil engineer who laid out the townsite of Temecula, and for whom the town of Perris, California, is named. Mr. Perris lived a full and varied life. He was born in England and lived several years of his youth in Australia before settling in Utah. While in Utah he ran the Salt Lake Tribune newspaper and started a political party called the Liberal Party of Utah.[caption id=
