A stage could carry eight to ten passengers with their baggage on top. Because banks sent shipments of gold and cash by stagecoach, a man sat with the driver riding “shotgun” to defend their passengers and cargo if challenged by bandits. Valley News/Courtesy photo
Rebecca Marshall FarnbachSpecial to Valley NewsWe voted for Temecula cityhood in 1989, choosing the name Temecula over the suggested Rancho Temecula and Rancho California. So why do the arches in Old Town say the town was established in 1859? It is because that was the year Temecula registered its first official post office. This is the first of several articles about the history of mail delivery to Temecula and the post offices that came later.Until 1857, any letters or packages were sent from hand to hand in hopes they would eventually reach the addressee. If you lived in Boston and wanted to send a letter to someone in San Diego, you would e
