Orange County, California
Ainsworth, Lewis, House
Anaheim Orange and Lemon Association Packing House
Artz Building
Backs, Ferdinand, House
Balboa Inn
Balboa Pavilion
Bank of Balboa-Bank of America
Beckman Instruments Inc. Administration Building
Bixby-Bryant Ranch House
Bradford, A. S., House
Brea City Hall and Park
Builders Exchange Building
Carnegie Library
Casa de Esperanza
Casa Romantica
Chapman Building
Clark, Dr. George C., House
Congdon, Joel R., House
Crystal Cove Historic District
Culver, C. Z., House
Cypress Street Schoolhouse
Dewella Apartments
Downtown Santa Ana Historic Districts (North, Government/Institutional and South, Retail)
Easley, Oscar, Block
Ebell Society of Santa Ana Valley
Egan, Richard, House
Elephant Packing House
Esslinger Building
Farmers and Merchants Bank of Fullerton
Fender's Radio Service
First Baptist Church of Orange
Forster, Frank A., House
Fox Fullerton Theatre Complex
Frances Packing House
French Park Historic District
Fullerton City Hall
Fullerton First Methodist Episcopal Church
Fullerton Odd Fellows Temple
Fullerton Post Office
Fullerton Union Pacific Depot
Goldschmidt House
Greystone Villa-Cabin 18
Griffith, Edward and America, House
Hansen, George, House
Harmon-McNeil House
Harrison House
Helme-Worthy Store and Residence
Hetebrink House
Hewes, David, House
Hillcrest Park
Hotel San Clemente
Howe-Waffle House and Carriage House
Hunt Center and Library
Huntington Beach Elementary School Gymnasium and Plunge
Huntington Beach Municipal Pier
Huntington Beach Public Library on Triangle Park
Irvine Bean and Growers Association Building
Irvine Blacksmith Shop
Irvine Park
Johnson, Hugh Edgar, House
Key, George, Ranch
Killefer, Lydia D., School
Kraemer, Samuel, Building (American Savings Bank/First National Bank)
Kroger-Melrose District
Lighter-than-Air Ship Hangars
Los Rios Street Historic District
Lovell Beach House
Mariona
Masonic Temple
Melrose-Backs Neighborhood Houses
Minter, George W., House
Mission San Juan Capistrano
Modjeska House
Montanez Adobe
Muckenthaler House
Newland House
Nixon, Richard, Birthplace
North Beach Historic District
Odd Fellows Hall
Old Backs House
Old Towne Orange Historic District
Olive Civic Center
Orange County Courthouse
Orange Intermediate School-Central Grammar School
Orange Union High School
Pacific Electric Railway Company Depot
Pacific Electric Sub-Station No. 14
Parker House
Parra, Miguel, Adobe
Pickwick Hotel
Pierotti, Attlio and Jane, House
Plaza Historic District
Plaza, The
Plummer, Louis, Auditorium
Pomona Court and Apartments
Porter-French House
Rankin Building
San Clemente Beach Club
Santa Ana City Hall
Santa Ana Fire Station Headquarters No. 1
Santa Fe Railway Passenger and Freight Depot
Santora Building
Seal Beach City Hall
Serrano, Jose, Adobe
Smith and Clark Brothers Ranch and Grounds
Smith-Tuthill Funeral Parlors
Southern Counties Gas Co.
Spurgeon Block
St. Francis by-the-Sea American Catholic Church
St. John's Lutheran Church
St. Michael's Episcopal Church
Stanton, Phillip Ackley, House
Stevens, Sherman, House
Stroschein, Carl, House
Truxaw-Gervais House
US Post Office Station-Spurgeon Station
Villa Park School
VIRGINIA (sloop)
Walkers Orange County Theater
WILD GOOSE (yacht)
Williams, Roger Y., House
Woelke, John, House
Wright, George L., House
Yorba, Domingo Adobe and Casa Manuel Garcia
Yost Theater-Ritz Hotel
Young Men's Christian Association-Santa Ana-Tustin Chapter
126 Main Street
1895 Sack Storage Warehouse
A Utopian Dream
Acjachemen people
Aliso Creek Adobes
"All Saints Anglican Church"
Alpha Beta Store 1924(c)
Amerige Brothers Realty Office
Amerige Park
Anaheim Cemetery
Anaheim Landing
Andrew and Anna Hoffman
Architectural Sampler
Arley & Alice Forster Leck House
Auditorium
Auditorium and Tower
Autonetics
Avila Adobe
Balboa Pavilion
Balboa Pavilion
Balboa Saloon
Balboa Village
Bank of Balboa, Costa Mesa Branch 1923(c)
Battle of the Paracel Islands Memorial
Big Red Cars
Birdcage Theatre
Birthplace of Richard Milhous Nixon
Blacksmith Shop
Blacksmith Shops
Blas Aguilar Adobe
Boysen Cactus Garden
Braddy's Barber Shoppe 1921(c)
Bradford House
Bruce Brown (1937-2017)
Buddhist Church
Buena Park Woman's Clubhouse
Bulk Storage Silo Warehouse 1949
California's Highway 1
California's Mustard Seed Trail
Callens Home
Camino Real Bell
Cañada De Los Bueyes
Capistrano Depot
Capistrano Home Like Mission at Old Town
Capistrano Union High School
Carthay Circle Theatre
Carving Farmland into a Lake
Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens
Cascade Falls
Castaways Park
Challenger Crew
Chapman Billiard Parlor 1928(c)
City of San Clemente Lifeguards
Coast Live Oak - Historical Legend
Colonia Jaurez
Columbus Tustin
Combs House
Costa Mesa Garage 1922(c)
Courreges Ranch
Crystal Cove Historic District
Cypress Police Memorial
Dana Point
Dana Point
Dana Point
Dana Point Elevator
Dana Point Inn
Dana Point's Early Years
Davis Barbershop & Soda Fountain 1921(c)
Death of the California Grizzly
Delta III Rocket
Diego Sepúlveda Adobe
Disneyland Monorail System
Doheney State Beach
Doheny State Beach
Domingo Yorba Adobe
Don Gaspar de Portolá
Don Hansen, Dana Wharf Sportfishing
Duke Kahanamoku
Early People of Capistrano Valley
Egan House
"El Adobe de Capistrano"
El Camino Real
El Camino Real
El Camino Real
El Toro, the Early Years
Esslinger Building
F.M. Bloom Shoe Repairs 1923(c)
Farming the Upper Oso Lease
First Advent Christian Church
First City Hall / First School
First Ferry Service Between Balboa and Balboa Island
First Water-to-Water Flight
Florence "Flo-Jo" Joyner Memorial
Florence Joyner Olympiad Park
Fossil
Fossil Reef
Fountain Valley Drive-In
Frances Packing House
Franciscan Plaza
Frederica and Wilhelm Stroschein
Fullerton College
Garcia Adobe
Gisler Home
Grijalva Adobe Site
Hang Gliding
Hanging Tree
Harbor / Pilgrim
Helena Modjeska
Helicopter Landing Pad
Helm Tract
Heritage Hill Historic Park
Heritage Hill Historic Park
Hewes Mansion
Historic Moss Point
Historic Town Center Park / The Mendelson Inn
History
History Speaks Softly
Hobie Alter / The Surfboard King
Hobie Cat / Innovation and Hard Work
Hoffman House
Horse Ranch
Hotel, Store, Hamilton Bungalow
In 1776
In Memory of Jim Olson
Irrigation in Orange County
Irvine Bowl
Irvine Park
Ishii Home
John Severson (1933-2017)
John Wayne Airport
Joint Outfall System
Jose Dolores Garcia
Juan Avila Adobe
Judge Egan House
Judge Richard Egan House
Kate and Ella 1895
Knott's Classic Carousel
Knotts Berry Farm
La Cristianita
La Habra Pacific Electric Depot
La Habra's Birthplace
La Paz Road & Chrisanta Drive
Lafitte's Anchor
Laguna Beach Art Museum
Land of the Acjachemen
Late 1700s and 1800s The Endurance of a Culture
Lion Country Safari
Lisa Anne Frost
Loara School Bell
Los Alamitos Sugar Company and Town's Founding
Los Rios Street
Los Rios Street Historic District
Macadamia Tree
Manuel Garcia Adobe
Marine Corps Air Station Tustin
Mariner's Mile
May Festival
McCoy-Hare House
McFadden (Newport) Wharf
McFadden Square Centennial
Men's Individual Road Race
Mesa Cleaners 1926(c)
Mesa Tavern 1928(c)
Metalworking Furnaces
Meyers Department Store 1924(c)
Michelle Carew Community Courtyard
Middaugh Shoes 1929(c)
Midway City Women's Clubhouse
Mission Bells
Mission Orchard Wall Foundations
Mission San Juan Capistrano
Mission San Juan Capistrano
Mission Yard & Reservoir Site
Mixocetus Baleen Whale
Model Drug Store 1928(c)
Modjeska's Home
Montanez Adobe
Mormon Battalion Marker
Mother Colony House
Mother Colony House
Mother Colony House
Nakayoshi - Good Friends
Native Ways
New Mission Church
Newland House
Nick's Café
Nimocks Home
North Gate of City of Anaheim
Northwood Gratitude and Honor Memorial
O'Neill Museum
O'Neill Park
Old Anaheim Library
Old Betsy
Old City Hall
Old Landing
Old Santa Ana
Old Town Irvine
Olinda
Olinda Historic Trail
Olinda Oil Museum and Trail
"Oliveras Home"
On the Mesa
Orange County Courthouse
Orange Plaza
Orange Street Cars
Orange's First Bank
Orange's First Public Schoohouse
Original Circus Site / First Post Office / Country Stores
Outdoor Living
Ozment General Store & Post Office 1908(c)
Pablo Pryor Adobe-Hide House
Pacific Electric Red Car
Pennant Bakery 1925(c)
Peralta Adobe
Petrified Tree
Phil Edwards (b. 1938)
Pink's Drugs 1933(c)
Pizza Pete's Cafe
Plaza de La Paz
Post Brother's Plow
Post Office 1925(c)
Provincial Building
Rancho Lucero
Ranchos of Orange County
Red Hill
Red Hill
Reese Joseph Imhoff
Rendezvous Ballroom
Richard Henry Dana Jr.
Richard Jerome O'Neill
Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon Birthplace
Richard Nixon A California Native Son
Rios Adobe
Rivera School
Roger Seitz
Safeway Store 1929(c)
San Clemente
San Clemente Island & Catalina Island
San Clemente Pier
San Clemente World War II Honor Roll
San Juan Capistrano Jail Cell
San Juan Capistrano Mission
San Juan Capistrano Regional Library
San Juan Elementary School Site
San Juan Hot Springs Dance Hall
Santa Ana Army Air Base Site
Santa Ana's Birthplace
Santa Fe Depot And Park
Santa Fe Train Depot
School Bell
School House
Scout Cabin
Seal Beach
Section Houses
Section of the Cajon Canal
Sergeant Jose Francisco Ortega
Sergeant Matt Davis Park
Sid Goldstein
Silvas Adobe
Silverado
Site of 3rd National Boy Scout Jamboree
Site of Carbondale
Site of Don Bernardo Yorba Hacienda
Site of Lily Creamery
Site of San Pedro Gate
Site of the S.R. Bowen Buildings
Site of the Valenzuela Adobe
Slaughter House
St. Isidore Historical Plaza
St. Michael's Episcopal Church
Stagecoach Stop
Stanley House Museum
Starting in The Mid 19th Century
Submerged Dam
Surfin' Dana Point
Sycamore Park
Talbert Drainage District
Talbert Home
Telephone Office
TeWinkle Hardware 1922(c)
The Bluff
The Diego Sepulveda Adobe
The Endless Summer
The Episcopal Church of the Messiah
The Founding Documents of Mission San Juan Capistrano
The Freedom Tree
The Historic Cajon Canal
The History Beneath Your Feet: Concrete Curb and Sidewalk Stamps
The Legend of Flores Peak
The Old Irvine Blacksmith Shop
The Oldest Protestant Church Building in Use in Orange County
The Orange Plaza
The Original Hass Avocado Tree
The Pelton Wheel
The Richfield Tower
The Serrano Adobe
The Steam Donkey
The Villa
The William C. Steinriede North Creek Stormwater Diversion Project
Third National Jamboree
This Big Saw
This Big Saw
This Boulder
Thomas Hittesdorf
Tibor Rubin
Tony Forster
Topanga Formation
Torch Run
U.S. Submarine Veterans W.W. II
Upper Newport Bay
Vietnam War Memorial
Wardlow Home / Red Car
Warne Family Barn
Warne Family House
Water Tower House
Wayside Market 1920(c)
Welcome to Our Petting Zoo
Welcome to the Balboa Island Museum
Welcome to the Los Rios Historic District
West Coyote Field, The La Habra Research Laboratory
Whale Fossil
White House Restaurant Building
Who Made This Wagon?
Wind and Water / Anaheim Agriculture
Women's Individual Road Race
Yorba Cemetery
Zoeter School
Big Red Cars
Big Red Cars
Big Red Cars
Big Red Cars
Big Red Cars
Big Red Cars
Big Red Cars
During the Mexican period in the early 19th century, the land that now makes up Orange County was granted as ranchos to prominent Mexican families. Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana, established in 1810, covered much of present-day northern Orange County and was known for its cattle and agriculture. With the American takeover of California in 1848, the area transformed once again.
The mid-19th century brought significant changes to Orange County, when waves of settlers arrived during the California Gold Rush and following the completion of the transcontinental railroad. Agricultural development boomed, with citrus groves, especially orange orchards, becoming a prominent industry. This led to the area becoming known as Orange County. Irrigation and transportation infrastructure, such as railroads and the Santa Ana River, fueled further growth and expansion.
Orange County experienced tremendous growth throughout the 20th century, fueled by its favorable climate, beautiful beaches, and proximity to Los Angeles. The area saw rapid suburbanization, the creation of new cities, and the development of iconic landmarks such as Disneyland, which opened in 1955. Today, Orange County is a vibrant and diverse region known for its thriving economy, picturesque coastal communities, and world-renowned attractions. It continues to attract residents and tourists seeking the California dream.
Brief timeline of the history of Orange County, California:
- 1889 - Orange County is officially established, separating from Los Angeles County.
- 1901 - Oil fields are discovered in the northern part of the county, leading to a boom in oil production.
- 1920s - The county experiences significant growth, with the development of agriculture and the expansion of the citrus industry.
- 1942 - During World War II, the U.S. military establishes various bases and facilities in Orange County.
- 1955 - Disneyland, the iconic theme park, opens in Anaheim, becoming a major attraction and driving tourism in the region.
- 1967 - The city of Irvine is founded and quickly grows into a major planned community.
- 1970s-1980s - Orange County becomes known as a center for technology and innovation, with the growth of the aerospace, electronics, and computer industries.
- 1994 - The county faces a financial crisis, becoming the largest municipality in U.S. history to file for bankruptcy.
- 2007 - The Great Park in Irvine, a redevelopment project on the site of the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, begins development.
- 2018 - Orange County becomes the third most populous county in California.
This timeline provides a condensed summary of the historical journey of Orange County, California.