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Albert Nienke got off the train at the Murrieta Depot, but was unable to rent a horse. So he followed the railroad tracks south to the
small town of Temecula. There Albert rented a horse and buggy from Johnny Gibb and toured the valley. He loved the area, and decided
to move his family from Los Angeles to Temecula.

Albert Frederick Nienke was a German immigrant, who was born in 1873. He worked as a lumberjack in the Wisconsin forests. He
married Clara Otto on November 24, 1897 and they raised three children, Elizabeth, James, and Mabel. Clara became ill with
tuberculosis. The local doctor gave her three months to live and suggested that the family move to Southern California, where the
climate might prolong Clara’s life. Without a second thought, Albert moved the family to Redondo Beach, California. Clara’s health
began to improve; she would live for another twenty-three years. Albert found work as a foreman for a local lumber company. Then he
and his family moved to Temecula in 1915, where Albert established the Temecula Lumber Company.

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Albert and Carrie Nienke in front of their service station located on Highway 395 near the Pala
Road Bridge in the 1930s. The water tank behind them was used as a shower for campers at
the trailer park across the highway. (Photo: Courtesy of Gene Oxe.)