Town file
Borrego Springs, California
Borrego Springs, California (San Diego County, California) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 234, "Sickness, Solvent & Snuff Films" (29 July 2021). Borrego Springs is a small town on the floor of the Borrego Valley in San Diego County, California, on the western edge of the Sonoran Desert and surrounded by the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
- Town
- Borrego Springs
- County
- San Diego County
- State
- California
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 234
- Approximate location
- 33.241, -116.357
Episode 234 / 29 July 2021 / 78 min / full
Sickness, Solvent & Snuff Films
"It's Barrego Springs, California. It's in the middle of a big state park. It's in San Diego County." about 0:08:50
The case: Murder of Margaret Kruger and Beth Jones (August 1982). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2021
- Population
- 2077
- Median age
- 59
- Median household income
- $38,264
- Median home value
- $214,200
- Two-bedroom rent
- $1,480
- Cost of living
- 103
- Religious
- 45%
- Property crime
- ▲ about one third high
- Violent crime
- exactly the national average
History, in brief
- The village sits on the floor of the Borrego Valley, at the westernmost extent of the Sonoran Desert. about 0:09:44
- Borrego Springs is a designated International Dark Sky Community, recognised by the International Dark Sky Association. about 0:10:13
- There are no stop lights in the town, and outside lighting is kept to a minimum at night to protect views of the stars; residents can be fined for light pollution. about 0:10:35
- The area east of town was used during the Second World War as a Navy training centre, the Borrego Valley Maneuver Area. about 0:11:35
- Electricity finally reached the town in 1945. about 0:11:35
- Christmas Circle is the big roundabout where everything in town happens. about 0:12:14
- Sculptor Ricardo Breceda made more than one hundred large metal animal statues at Galleta Meadows Estates, many of them prehistoric animals and desert creatures. about 0:12:23
- One of the sculptures is a huge sand dragon that looks like the sand worm from Beetlejuice. about 0:12:53
The reviews read out
3 stars
"A resident of more than fifteen years says the town has a first-person point of view of the desert; May through August reaches 110 degrees and September through April is cool."about 0:13:37
2 stars
"The winter is cool and pleasant, but in summer the heat waves and sandstorms hit hard."about 0:14:11
5 stars
"The reviewer loves how intimate and caring the hometown is, says there are few opportunities while in high school but endless opportunities once you leave, and that fun is only a drive away; the hosts think it sounds sarcastic."about 0:14:24
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Canyon Lake, California61 miles
- Lomita, California119 miles
- Lake Havasu City, Arizona146 miles
- Golden Valley, Arizona182 miles
- Grasshopper Junction, Arizona191 miles
- Boulder City, Nevada198 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.