Points of Historical Interest
by Lucy Kortum

Orange County

Guide to Orange County Beaches
Coastal Conservancy Projects in Orange County
Sources

• Orange County: Named by the legislature after its famous crop, was created in 1889 from a portion of Los Angeles County.

• City of Seal Beach: The shipping port of Anaheim Landing was established in 1864. Later Bay City, then Seal Beach, was developed as a resort, accessible by Pacific Electric Railway in 1904. Pier, longest south of San Francisco, was built in 1906 and a roller coaster imported from San Francisco Worlds Fair in 1915. Oil discovered in 1926.

• Anaheim Bay: Named for German colony of Anaheim, inland on Santa Ana River, which founded port at what is now Seal Beach. When a marsh, extensive Gabrielino Indian settlements. In 1784 granted to Manuel Nieto; later became Rancho Los Alamitos, in 1842 purchased by Abel Stearns for grazing, then drained for agriculture. Jetties and wharves were built by Navy in 1944; extensive oil drilling in 1954 on manmade "Oil Island."

• Sunset Beach: 1905 resort which grew substantially after oil discovery.

• Bolsa Chica: Estuary drained in 1890 for farming and sports hunting; in 1920's oil discovered.

• City of Huntington Beach: Evidence of very early Indian habitation. Part of Nieto land grant. Farming replaced grazing in 1880's, followed by resort development as Huntington extended Pacific Electric Railway to area. Oil discovered in 1920.

• Colonial Inn Hostel: Located in 1903 Victorian.

• Huntington City Beach Pier: Built in 1914; bust of Hawaiian Olympic swimmer Duke Kahanamoku, who popularized surfing in California in 1911.

• Santa Ana River: Named by 1769 Portola expedition, many courses before channeled north of Costa Mesa in 1921.

• City of Costa Mesa: Site of Gabrielino village Lukup; 1823 adobe survives from Mission period; later farming community Harper, subdivided 1915 and renamed Costa Mesa in contest.

• Newport Bay: Former mouth of Santa Ana River which opened directly into ocean before 1825 flood created sand spit with wide lagoon behind. James and Robert McFadden in 1873 established port but it proved too shallow. As Newport Beach developed as resort, yachting was well established by 1911, and 1917 and 1936 dredging and jetty construction created extensive small boat harbor

• City of Newport Beach: Grew from McFadden brothers move from inside Newport Bay to ocean side where submarine canyon created quiet waters; they built a wharf, then an 1891 rail line connecting inland communities and the wharf. When San Pedro supplanted other ports, they sold townsite to developer William Collins. He was joined by Henry Huntington who brought Pacific Electric Railway to Newport in 1905. Throughout 1930's the beach resort grew with distinct communities of Newport, Balboa, Balboa Island, and Corona Del Mar and boasting many celebrity residents.

• Newport Pier: Oldest pier on Southern California coast, built in 1888 for trains from inland farms, and nucleus for a small fishing village. Purchased by City of Newport Beach in 1922.

• Balboa: Established as a beach resort in 1905.

• Balboa Pier and Pavilion: Built by Balboa promoters to attract tourists and residents. Marker notes 1912 flight by Glenn L. Martin from site to Catalina. The Victorian pavilion, the terminus for the Pacific Electric Railway, was a dance hall through the 1940's and was restored in 1962.

• Balboa and Lido Islands: Balboa Island was created from mudflats of Newport Bay by developer Collins in 1906, can be reached by bridge or by ferry from the Balboa Pavilion. Lido Island to the north was similarly created and designed in 1928 to resemble the Italian island village of Lido by Swiss architect Franz Herding.

• Corona del Mar: Subdivided in 1904 on land purchased from the Irvine Ranch by developer George E. Hart. More on Corona del Mar.

• Crystal Cove State Park: Small resort community was established on leased land in the 1920's, and has remain virtually unchanged as a group of small frame cottages which have been added to the National Register of Historic Places. Earlier site of numerous Gabrielino Indian villages, was later included in the lands of Mission San Juan Capistrano and after secularization was granted as Rancho San Joaquin to Jose Sepulveda; he in turn, after the drought of 1864, sold the land to a group of investors including San Franciscan James Irvine. Irvine later bought out the others and the Irvine Ranch continues primarily on their inland holdings, though several notable portions have been sold. More on Crystal Cove.

• City of Laguna Beach, South Laguna Beach: Not part of a land grant, the area was homesteaded in the 1870's. A favorite vacation and camping spot for artists and inland residents, its grew rapidly after the opening of the coast Highway in 1926. Setting for several movies.

• Aliso Beach and Pier: "Alder" or "sycamore" in Spanish; pier was built in 1972.

• Dana Point: Named for Richard Henry Dana whose sea voyage recorded in "Two Years Before the Mast" documented the California coast of the mid-1830's through the whaling, hides and tallow commerce, as well as the conditions of sailors. First visited in 1818 by privateer Hippolyte de Bouchard, the Dana Point area was homesteaded in the 1800's by settlers who farmed the land. Subdivision began in 1926 but was interrupted by the Depression; construction of Dana Point Harbor in 1971 gave it renewed impetus.

• Doheny State Beach: Named for oil magnate Edward J. Doheny, famous for the Elk Hill oil scandal, who owned the extensive Rancho Los Alamos.

• Capistrano Beach: As San Juan By the Sea, the area was planned for 1887 subdivision by a subsidiary of the Santa Fe Railroad Company but the plan languished, as did a 1925 plan as Capistrano Beach. Oil magnate Edward L. Doheny took over the town during the Depression and changed its name to Doheny Park, but in 1948 it was changed back to Capistrano Beach.

• City of San Clemente: Named for offshore island San Clemente, which had been named by Vizcaino in 1602 in honor of the saint's day. The Portola expedition camped there in 1769 and performed the first Catholic baptisms of California Indians. In 1925 developer Ole Hanson planned a "Spanish village" with mandatory white stucco exteriors and red tile roofs. The Depression halted development, which revived after construction of the San Diego Freeway. Site of Casa Pacifica, Richard Nixon's "Western White House."

• San Clemente Hostel: Located in the original San Clemente Public Library.

• San Clemente Municipal Pier: Built by Ole Hanson in 1928, damaged in 1983 storms but since renovated.