Wendel has a rich history of names and has had more designations than any other location in the county. It has been known as, (the names are presented in chronological order): Upper Hot Springs, Schaeffer Hot Springs, Smithon, Boyd, Hot Springs Station, Purser, Antola and Caloreta.

Actually, there were two Wendels on the Nevada-California-Oregon Railroad (NCO). The first Wendel Station was established in 1913 in Lake County, Oregon and its existence was brief. In October 1914, the Lassen Advocate reported that the NCO and Southern Pacific (SP) Junction name was to be changed from Caloreta to Wendel. In addition, the post office located there was known as Purser, and that name would also be changed to Wendel. While the NCO adopted the name change, the SP did not change it to Wendel until 1917. The NCO named it after Charles de Wendel, a major investor in the railroad. It should be noted that the Wendel Post Office closed on December 3, 1993.