A few months later, in October, Frank Kimbal of San Diego signed an agreement with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad to build a rail line past the lake from San Diego to Barstow, then known as Waterman.

[8][better source needed] The next winter, Heald traveled by buggy to see La Laguna (Lake Elsinore) at the same time work commenced on the rail line from San Diego skirting the lakeshore.

The new train service was destined to bring development to the Wildomar area, then known as the southern portion of the Rancho La Laguna.

Heald found that the Rancho La Laguna could be purchased, with the exception of some 500 acres (2.0 km2) owned by the Machado family, from the London and San Francisco Bank for $24,000.

On September 24 of that year, the three men purchased the 12,832 acres (51.93 km2) of Rancho La Laguna with an additional payment of $7,000 advanced by William Collier.

The railroad placed a boxcar, known as "Car B", off to the north-west side of the mainline near what is now Clinton Keith Road on January 1, 1884.

The rail line through Wildomar became part of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad.

In February 1885, Collier and Graham purchased Franklin Heald's one-third interest in the 2,600 acres (11 km2) of unsold land south-east of Corydon Road.

Collier and Graham made a map of the Wildomar townsite in December 1885, recording it with San Diego County on November 20, 1886.

By 1887, Wildomar could boast a large hotel, livery stable, blacksmith shop, numerous stores, a lumber yard, and a park.

[10] The railroad, however, continued to be plagued by washouts and within a few years, the rail connection south from Temecula to San Diego were abandoned.

[13] According to the United States Census Bureau, the community has a total area of 23.7 square miles (61 km2), all of it land.

According to the 2010 United States Census, Wildomar had a median household income of $60,219, with 13.0% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

As of June 2022[update], the top employers in the city were:[18] In the California State Senate, Wildomar is in the 32nd district.

[25] Iodine Springs Reserve is a protected area managed by the Riverside County Regional Park and Open Space District.

[30] In 2011, the city of Wildomar proposed to take over management of the cemetery district and accomplished the takeover in November of that year.

Riverside Transit Agency provides local bus service to Wildomar, with Routes 8 and 23 serving the city.

[36] The Riverside County Sheriff's Department's Lake Elsinore Valley Regional Station contracts police services for the city.

San Jacinto College (MSJC) campus in Wildomar, located on Clinton Keith Road between Salida del Sol and Elizabeth Lane.

Hills are covered with coastal sage scrub and chaparral plant communities, along with the California Poppy.