MARKING ORANGE COUNTY HISTORY

Following is a complete list of Orange County landmarks designated by the California Office of Historic Preservation: ANAHEIM LANDING After the establishment of the Mother Colony at Anaheim in 1857, a wharf and warehouse were constructed at the mouth of Anaheim Creek to serve the Santa Ana Valley. Treacherous entrance conditions caused several disasters, but steamers loaded with wine, wool and other cargo continued to dock here regularly. Use of the seaport began to decline in 1875 with the incursion of the Southern Pacific Railroad into the area. By 1890, the landing was no longer in operation. Location: A plaque marks the site at the Seal Way entrance to the Naval Weapons Station, Seal Beach. BALBOA PAVILION A 10,000-square-foot “bay side pleasure palace,” the Balboa Pavilion had its grand opening July 1, 1906. A festive and popular attraction, the pavilion’s restaurants and dance halls were a draw for people from miles around. Eighty-two years later, the pavilion continues to attract fun-seekers with its restaurant, shops and harbor/Catalina cruises. Location: 400 Main St., Balboa. BARTON MOUND In January 1857, Sheriff James R. Barton and three of his five-man posse were ambushed and murdered near a mound about 300 yards southwest of where the Laguna Freeway crosses the San Diego Creek. Their killers, a band of desperadoes led by the notorious bandit Juan Flores, were pursued by more than 150 men and eventually apprehended (see Flores Peak).

Location: A plaque marks the site at the Laguna-San Diego Freeway interchange in Irvine. BLACK STAR CANYON INDIAN VILLAGE SITE The village, situated in a canyon stretching from the Santa Ana Mountains to within three miles of the Santiago Dam, was the scene of a bloody massacre in 1832. Indian cattle rustlers were pursued into the village by the prosperous sheep man William Wolfskill and a posse. All of the Indians were slain. Location: Black Star Canyon; site is on private property and not accessible to the public. CARBONDALE Nothing remains of this once bustling mining town, but 110 years ago it was home to 200 people, many of whom worked the Santa Clara coal mine. The mine, in Silverado Canyon about 1 1/2 miles from the Santiago-Silverado Forks, was abandoned in 1884. Location: A plaque marks the site (there is a church there now) at 8002 Silverado Canyon Road, Silverado Canyon. DANA POINT The headland of a cliff four miles southwest of Mission San Juan Capistrano, Dana Point was named for the author Richard Henry Dana. Dana served aboard the ship “Alert” and chronicled his sailing adventures in the classic sea tale “Two Years Before the Mast.” Trading vessels loaded with cowhides and ships commanded by the daring pirate Hipolito Bouchard docked at El Embarcadero, the cove nestled below Dana Point. Location: A plaque marks the headland at Dana Point. DIEGO SEPULVEDA ADOBE Believed to have been built around 1800 by Franciscan padres of the Mission San Juan Capistrano, the honey-colored, tiled-roof adobe served as shelter for the Indian cowboys who herded mission cattle. Over the years, the adobe changed hands frequently and was for a brief time the property of wealthy landowner Diego Sepulveda. Location: 1900 Adams Ave., Estancia Park. Open noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, 1 to 4 p.m. on the second and fourth Sundays of the month. No admission charge. Information: (714) 631-5918. DON BERNARDO YORBA RANCH HOUSE SITE The ranch house had 18 large, handsomely furnished rooms and was once part of a complex of buildings that included a school, winery and worker living quarters. In the mid-1800s, the home was a magnet for the Santa Ana Valley’s most prominent citizens, who attended the glittering parties held there. Location: A plaque marks the site on Esperanza Road near Echo Hill Drive, Yorba Linda. FLORES PEAK Handsome, charismatic and thought to be descended from a respected Santa Barbara family, outlaw Juan Flores was depicted as both a romantic and a ruthless figure. Well-known for escapades that included horse stealing and robbery, Flores and his men were eventually sought by authorities for the murder of a sheriff and members of his posse (see Barton Mound). Flores was tracked to the peak in the Santa Ana Mountains that now bears his name, but he was able to escape by jumping off the precipice. Flores could not elude the law for long, though, and was soon captured and hanged in a public execution. Location: A plaque marks the site just northwest of the Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary, Modjeska Canyon. McFADDEN WHARF On the site of what is now the Newport Beach Municipal Pier, James and Robert McFadden constructed a wharf measuring 1,300 feet long, 60 feet wide, and rising 19 feet above the water. An imposing and hugely profitable structure, the wharf served as the conduit for cargo ships that would supply and help build Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties in the waning years of the 19th Century and the early part of the 20th. Location: A plaque marks the site at 70 Newport Pier, Newport Beach. MISSION SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO The mission was founded in 1776 by Father Junipero Serra. It was a bustling self-contained community, providing shelter not only for priests and converts but also for the candle makers, carpenters, cooks and weavers who supplied its residents. Location: 31522 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. Take Highway 74 exit off Interstate 5. Information: (714) 493-1111 MODJESKA HOME Helena Modjeska was a well-respected actress known throughout the United States and Europe and was often compared to the great Sarah Bernhardt. A native of Poland, she moved to Anaheim in 1876. Twelve years later, she commissioned the prominent architect Stanford White to design “Arden,” her Santiago Canyon home. There she entertained a wide circle of friends, and she also endeared herself to her adopted community by devoting time to local charities. The home is undergoing extensive work and will reopen to the public in 1990. Location: Modjeska Canyon, off Modjeska Canyon Road. NORTH GATE OF CITY OF ANAHEIM In an effort to prevent renegade herds of wild cattle from entering the Anaheim colony, settlers planted willow poles around the community’s perimeter and installed four gates. The north gate was the main entrance to Anaheim off the highway to Los Angeles. Location: A plaque marks the site at Los Angeles and North streets, Anaheim. OLD MAIZELAND SCHOOL (RIVERA SCHOOL) This one-room wooden schoolhouse was built in 1868 to serve the Maizeland District (later the Rivera District), one of the largest communities outside Los Angeles at the time. Now on the grounds of Knott’s Berry Farm, the school is used as a ranger station. Location: Knott’s Berry Farm, 8039 Beach Blvd., Buena Park. Summer hours, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-midnight; Saturday, 9 a.m.-1 a.m. OLD SANTA ANA Named to honor St. Anne by Spanish explorer Don Gaspar de Portola, the area was granted by Spain to Jose Antonio Yorba in 1810. Yorba built the Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana there, making it the second settlement after the founding of Mission San Juan Capistrano. Because it was often referred to as Santa Ana, the name was changed to Santa Ana Viejo to distinguish it from the city now called Santa Ana. Location: The Olive neighborhood in Orange. OLINDA The town of Olinda, originally part of a quiet 1,000-acre tract near the entrance to Carbon Canyon, burgeoned into a black-gold boom town when Edward Doheny discovered oil in the area in 1896. A railroad line brought in to support the oil field terminated there, and Olinda prospered for decades. Location: 4442 Carbon Canyon Road, Brea. ORANGE COUNTY’S ORIGINAL COURTHOUSE As the oldest existing county courthouse in Southern California, the Santa Ana County Court House, as it was once known, is a significant county and state landmark. Built by land baron William Spurgeon in 1900, the courtrooms in the massive red sandstone structure were the scene of many of the major state cases of the day. Location: 211 W. Santa Ana Blvd., Santa Ana. PIONEER HOUSE OF THE MOTHER COLONY Anaheim’s first house was named by The Mother Colony, a German group that established what would be California’s largest vineyard of the day. Originally built by civil engineer and surveyor George Hansen as his own residence, the building also served as a home for the actress Helena Modjeska. The house has been converted into a museum and is open to the public by appointment. Location: 400 block of North West St., Anaheim. RED HILL One of Orange County’s most striking and significant natural landmarks, Red Hill was named by American settlers to reflect the bountiful deposits of cinnabar (mercuric sulfide) found in its crimson soil. The hill, which peaks at 347 feet, is on private property and is not accessible to the public. Location: Three miles northeast of Tustin. THE SERRANO ADOBE Granted to ranchero Jose Serrano in May 1842, Canada de los Alisos (Canyon of the Sycamores) was the site of several adobes built by the Serrano family before debts forced them to give up most of their land and property. The Serrano Adobe was lovingly restored by private owners and is now owned by the county. The 4.1 acres around the adobe were developed to complement the historic site and now make up Heritage Hill Historical Park. Location: 25151 Serrano Road, El Toro. Open daily, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. No admission fee. SILVERADO Founded in 1878 with the discovery of silver at the nearby Dunlap Blue Light Mine, the town of Silverado prospered for four feverish years. Located in Canada de la Madera (Timber Canyon), the area at the height of the boom included an enormous tent city, three hotels and seven saloons. Location: In Silverado Canyon, at the east end of Silverado Canyon Road. SITE OF THE FIRST WATER-TO-WATER FLIGHT On May 10, 1912, Santa Ana’s Glenn L. Martin flew the first airplane in Orange County and one of the first in California. The aircraft failed to leave the ground on the first few attempts, but it finally lifted off, making the 34-mile trip from Newport Beach to Catalina Island in 37 minutes. Martin went on to establish an aircraft company, selling many of his planes to the war department. Location: A plaque marks the site at Newport Harbor, Newport Beach. Sources: California Office of Historic Preservation; “An Illustrated History of Orange County” by Pamela Hallan-Gibson; “The Orange County Experience” by L. Reichman and Gary Cardinale; “Historic Place Names in Orange County” by Don Meadows; Orange County historian Jim Sleeper, and the Orange County Historical Commission. PLACES IN HISTORY

California Items on National Places of Historical Register of Historical County Landmarks Historic Places Interest Los Angeles 88 211 39 Orange 23 59 19 Riverside 16 29 52 San Bernardino 32 27 109 San Diego 65 66 10 STATE TOTAL 972 1,368 396

Source: California Almanac, 3rd Edition WHEN 100 IS YOUNG As Orange County celebrates its 100th birthday, the question arises: How old are we compared to other counties? Only five counties are newer than Orange, making us comparatively young in the overall lineup. Herewith, California counties and their birthdays--from oldest to newest.

County Incorporation Date Butte Feb. 18, 1850 Calaveras Feb. 18, 1850 Colusa Feb. 18, 1850 Contra Costa Feb. 18, 1850 El Dorado Feb. 18, 1850 Los Angeles Feb. 18, 1850 Marin Feb. 18, 1850 Mariposa Feb. 18, 1850 Mendocino Feb. 18, 1850 Monterey Feb. 18, 1850 Napa Feb. 18, 1850 Sacramento Feb. 18, 1850 San Diego Feb. 18, 1850 San Francisco Feb. 18, 1850 San Joaquin Feb. 18, 1850 San Luis Obispo Feb. 18, 1850 Santa Barbara Feb. 18, 1850 Santa Clara Feb. 18, 1850 Santa Cruz Feb. 18, 1850 Shasta Feb. 18, 1850 Solano Feb. 18, 1850 Sonoma Feb. 18, 1850 Sutter Feb. 18, 1850 Trinity Feb. 18, 1850 Tuolumne Feb. 18, 1850 Yolo Feb. 18, 1850 Yuba Feb. 18, 1850 Nevada April 25, 1851 Placer April 25, 1851 Siskiyou March 22, 1852 Sierra April 16, 1852 Tulare April 20, 1852 Alameda March 25, 1853 San Bernardino April 26, 1853 Humboldt May 12, 1853 Plumas March 18, 1854 Stanislaus April 1, 1854 Amador May 11, 1854 Merced April 19, 1855 Tehama April 9, 1856 Fresno April 19, 1856 San Mateo April 19, 1856 Del Norte March 2, 1857 Mono April 24, 1861 Lake May 20, 1861 Alpine March 16, 1864 Lassen April 1, 1864 Inyo March 22, 1866 Kern April 2, 1866 Ventura March 22, 1872 San Benito Feb. 12, 1874 Modoc Feb. 17, 1874 Orange March 11, 1889 Glenn March 11, 1891 Madera March 11, 1893 Riverside March 11, 1893 Kings March 22, 1893 Imperial Aug. 15, 1907

Source: California Roster, 1988

Next Thursday’s Clipboard will include a further listing of Orange County’s public and private historic sites.