The brave pioneers who arrived throughout the late 1800s in covered wagons or on trains to the desolate San Jacinto Plains, as it was called at that time, saw beauty in the picturesque mountain ranges and blue skies and were beholden to their new home in what was to become the Perris Valley. Ready to start their new lives, many came for the health benefits provided by the dry climate. The Perris Valley has come a long way from its rural farming roots. It is now highly diversified and urbanized. Several exciting venues are part of Perris Valley today, including the Orange Empire Railway Museum, which is the largest rail museum in the western United States, and the internationally renowned Skydive Perris.