In December of 1980, Mary Allred, HSJGS President presented Hemet Public Library Director James Boulton with a check for $742 to be used to purchase a microfilm reader for the library.
Although microfilm readers sound archaic now, in 1980 it would have been much appreciated technology. Microfilm was a valuable space-saving alternative to bulky print materials such as newspapers and periodicals, freeing up room in smaller libraries.
As reference books are essential, the Society began acquiring books and periodicals immediately. As the volume of materials grew, where to store them so that they were available for research became an issue. The brother of one of the members allowed the Society to store their materials in a duplex that he owned, as long as they furnished the electricity. This arrangement lasted until April of 1981, when the building was sold.
Shared interests in family genealogy have always resulted in membership crossover between the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and HSJGS. In the spring of 1981 a Genealogical Research Center was projected to open at the L.D.S. Church in Hemet.
.jpg)
Under the leadership of Mary Allred, current President, the Society’s books were placed on loan to the L.D.S. Library in Hemet, so that they could be used by everyone.
The Center was scheduled to be open 4 days a week and would have space for 2000 books. As the Center was open 40 hours a week, 18 society members volunteered to serve as library assistants.
This arrangement was maintained until September of 1992 when the Society rented a storefront at 1779 E. Florida Avenue in Hemet. The library remained there until moving into the Duffin Heritage Room in the newly completed Hemet Public Library in 2003.
In 1989 the Society was able to offer to the public a comprehensive history of the area when San Jacinto Valley - Past and Present History Book, Volume 1 was published. The project took almost a year to complete and thousands of hours were donated.
The idea for the book began as a result of a donation made to the Hemet Public Library. There was a group that had been around for several years called "Friends of the Hemet Genealogical Library", which consisted primarily of society members. This group raised over $9000, which they donated to the public library for the purchase of books. In August of 1986, nine history books arrived from the Curtis Media Corp, a publishing company based in Texas. Then president Mary Allred looked at the books and said "Wouldn't it be wonderful if we had a book like this on our valley history." In August of 1987, Martin Aguirre, one of the pioneers of the San Jacinto Valley had passed just 14 days short of his 100th birthday. Mary said, "Pioneers like Martin are passing away and the history is passing with them." Then, she sat down and wrote the company for information.
A special board meeting was called for the 12th of January, 1988. It was voted to present the idea of a community history book to the entire membership for a vote. Linda Parrott came forward as Director of the project, Gene Cheney and Mary Allred volunteered to co-chair, and it was voted to move forward.
The history book preserves personal stories of the San Jacinto Valley that would otherwise be lost to future generations. It is illustrated with hundreds of photos, illustrations and maps, many never before published, and is fully cross-reference indexed by surname of the valley's residents.
By the fall of 2011, the society was able to offer Volume 1 and Volume 2 of San Jacinto Valley - Past and Present History Book in a single publication.
The book was again hard bound and contained over 800 family histories; an alphabetical abstract of the 1860, 1870, 1990, 1900 and 1910 U.S. Population Census of the San Jacinto Valley, and a military section with personal notes on 65 Civil War Veterans buried in the San Jacinto Valley Cemetery. Also included was information regarding the formation of Riverside County, the City of San Jacinto, the City of Hemet and surrounding communities plus histories of business, churches and organizations.
Beginning in 2006, Society volunteers dedicated themselves to collecting and preserving cemetery and obituary information pertinent to Riverside County.
By November of 2016, Society members had researched and preserved over 168,000 newspaper clippings of marriages, births and items of area interest.
They had transcribed headstones and burial records from these cemeteries
- San Jacinto Valley Cemetery - 25,675
- Riverside National Cemetery - 177,271
- Radec Cemetery - 109
and they had collected 21,000 obituaries from the Hemet News.
As of August of 2025 over 138,000 obituaries have been recorded from the Press Enterprise, Hemet News, Valley Chronicle and the San Jacinto Valley Register.
