Rancho Mirage only has a population of about 17,000—but it has made a big impact on the world stage.
The upscale town has long been associated with celebrities and world leaders, and has accordingly been nicknamed the “Playground of the Presidents.” Every president from Harry Truman to Barack Obama visited Rancho Mirage, several numerous times. Important summits with world leaders were held in the city by presidents George H.W. Bush and Obama. President Gerald Ford lived in Rancho Mirage from when he left the White House in 1977—he and his wife built a home at the Thunderbird Country Club—until his death in 2006.
Some have also called Rancho Mirage the “Golf Capital of the World,” as the city has hosted golf tournaments including the Davis Cup, the Ryder Cup and the Desert Classic. Today, the city is home to 17 courses.
Like much of the rest of the Coachella Valley, Rancho Mirage was historically occupied by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. In 1862, entrepreneur William Bradshaw developed an overland stage route following Indigenous trails through the valley, mostly along what is now Highway 111, to gold fields in Arizona. Then in 1876, the railroad came through the valley.
In 1912, Everett Knox DaVall bought a half-section of land from the Southern Pacific Railroad and planted 250 date palms at what he called Wonder Palms Ranch. In 1924, investors R.P. “Bert” Davie and E.E. McIntyre began buying 80-acre parcels to resell. The next year, William Everett established Eleven Mile Ranch at the end of Magnesia Falls Cove (where Magnesia Springs Canyon begins).
In 1932, Leslie and Helen Clancy built the first ranch at Rio del Sol Estates, giving birth to today’s Clancy Lane neighborhood. Two years later, Pasadena businessman and entrepreneur Louis McLaughlin “Mac” Blankenhorn bought land around Magnesia Falls Cove and began selling lots and homes. As one story goes, the name “Rancho Mirage” was suggested by his wife, Ruth. She said it looked like a “mirage,” and he added ‘Rancho” for sales appeal. Another story attributes the name to one of Blankenhorn’s sales managers, Lawrence Macomber, who supposedly combined the Spanish “Rancho” with “Mirage.” Another version credits one of the salesmen, John Talbert, who named many of the streets. Regardless, the name evolved from Blankenhorn’s team.
In 1937, Macomber and Don Cameron began offering “close to Palm Springs” lots. They were able to attract actor Frank Morgan (The Wizard of Oz), who built one of the original Rancho Mirage homes on Sahara Road. He was the first of many Hollywood celebrities who have enjoyed Rancho Mirage living. In 1945, A. Ronald Button, a Hollywood attorney with a number of celebrity clients including Hedy Lamarr and Thelma Todd, purchased almost 2,000 acres of the land around Magnesia Falls for residential development.
In 1946, Los Angeles architect Henry L. Gogerty bought 320 acres and established an airstrip in Rancho Mirage, and later launched the Desert Air Hotel and Airpark. The airstrip eventually yielded to progress; the Omni Rancho Las Palmas Resort and Spa occupies much of its land.
Thunderbird Country Club
It was golf, and expressly the Thunderbird Country Club, that gave many celebrities a haven in the desert.
Thunderbird started when Palm Springs promoter and eventual mayor Frank Bogert bought a section of land from Raymond Cree (a Palm Springs superintendent of schools and an investor) for $34,000 in 1946 and developed the Thunderbird Dude Ranch. The only golf course in the Coachella Valley at the time was the nine-hole O’Donnell Golf Course in Palm Springs. Amateur golfer Johnny Dawson and Bogert figured the dude ranch would be an excellent locale for an 18-hole course. With others, they were able to attract enough investors, including Bob Hope, Randolph Scott, Phil Harris, Desi Arnaz and Ralph Kiner, to build the desert’s first 18-hole golf course.
Thunderbird Country Club opened on Jan. 9, 1951, and immediately became one of the nation’s premiere golf courses. Bogert became club manager, and Dawson was club president. Early buyers included tire-company president Leonard Firestone and Hollywood couples Phil Harris and Alice Faye, and Desis Arnaz and Lucille Ball.
Interesting Thunderbird tidbits: The Ford Motor Company liked the Thunderbird logo so much that in 1954, they named their new sports car after it. The electric golf cart was supposedly invented for members of Thunderbird Country Club.
Like many country clubs at the time, Thunderbird did not allow Jewish members. This led A-listers including Jack Benny, Danny Kaye, George Burns and the Marx Brothers to found the nearby Tamarisk Country Club in 1952, where the second 18-hole golf course in the desert was established; reigning Masters and U.S. Open champion Ben Hogan was head pro. In 1954, Frank Sinatra bought a William F. Cody-designed house on the Tamarisk Country Club’s 17th fairway.
Sunnylands
Entrepreneur/philanthropist Ambassador Walter Annenberg and his wife, Leonore, built a 200-acre estate in Rancho Mirage, called Sunnylands, which they began using in 1966.
Designed by A. Quincy Jones, Sunnylands features a main residence, three cottages, a nine-hole private golf course, 11 lakes, a tennis court, conference center and much more. For more than 40 years, the Annenbergs hosted dignitaries, royalty and most of the U.S. presidents since Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Today, the Sunnylands Center and Gardens is open to the public during much of the year.
Eisenhower Medical Center
The desert’s largest hospital is the nonprofit Eisenhower Medical Center. Named for President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the hospital has its roots in the mid-1960s when Bob and Dolores Hope donated the original 80 acres of land and also helped raise funds for the hospital’s construction.
The 1969 groundbreaking ceremony was attended by President Richard Nixon, Gov. Ronald Reagan, and entertainers Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Gene Autry and Lucille Ball. The facility opened in 1971. Constantly expanding, Eisenhower Health is now a 437-bed hospital with 93 outpatient clinics.
In 1982, Betty Ford and her next-door neighbor Leonard Firestone co-founded the Betty Ford Center at Eisenhower Medical Center.
Incorporation and the Future
The city of Rancho Mirage was incorporated on Aug. 3, 1973.
Today, the city continues to grow. Adding to Rancho Mirage’s luster, the Disney corporation has developed its first residential community there. Called Cotino, its 618 acres combines residential living with parks and a man-made lagoon. The first residents arrived in 2025.
Sources for this article include “A Look Back in Time” by city of Rancho Mirage, 1993; Sunnylands Center and Gardens, www.sunnylands.org; and “Beyond the ‘country club city’ and ‘playground of presidents’: Rancho Mirage is turning 50” by Tom Coulter, The Desert Sun, Aug. 11, 2023.
