The Bokninuwad Yokuts, also called Hoeynche, were the first people to use these hot springs and called the place Kahtililkau, meaning hot water. In the late 1870's, T.J. and N.B. Witt filed claim to Upper Deer Creek, called Hoyen Idik, which included several hot springs then known as the Deer Creek Hot Springs. By 1880, the Witt family had developed small bathhouses and a camping area and charged for their use. They sold the springs and 300 acres in 1889, and after that the property changed hands several more times. During that period, the name became California Hot Springs and the site was praised far and wide for its health benefits. In 1904, a large hotel called the Del Venado was built there. It burned in 1932, but within two years new facilities were built. Firebaugh, Pike, Wingrove, Mitchell, Williams, Newbury, and Baxter were among the owners over the years until a disastrous fire in 1968 destroyed the resort buildings, leaving only the dance hall, swimming pool, and a few rental cabins. In the 1980's, the Gilbert family purchased what remained and, with great effort, brought it back to what it is today, an active successful resort.