 In the 18th century, the area fell under Spanish rule and was ceded by Mexico to the United States in 1850 as a result of the Mexican–American War.Farming, which began in the mid-19th century, was concentrated in the Menifee area.Mining began in the early 1880s with the discovery of a significant quartz lode by miner Luther Menifee Wilson, from whom Menifee derived its name.