Portions of the town sit on a former Mexican land grant Rancho Lomas de Santiago.

[5] (The name Silverado is a type of Spanglish indicating a place where silver is found; a parallel formation to El Dorado.)

The area enjoyed a renaissance in popularity in the 1940s as a hot springs vacation retreat, during which time hotels and restaurants prospered.

Home to a number of artists and craftsmen, the town now consists of about 2,000 residents, a general store, a cafe, a public library, a church, two fire stations, a community center, and a post office.

Torrential rains from Pacific storms in 1939, and again in 1969, washed away homes and devastated roads and bridges.