Moro: Misspelled, but Part of History

The Feb. 23 letter titled “Another Sign of Ignorance” is itself a sign of ignorance of Orange County history. I am not familiar with the street sign under criticism, but it must have some relationship to Moro Canyon, also spelled with one r and part of the original Irvine Ranch. The old-timers in Orange County know the canyon by its original spelling, and I believe it is so listed today.

The WPA reports of the ‘30s used the Moro spelling (see the “Centennial Bibliography of Orange County, California”). Don Meadows in his “Historic Place Names in Orange County” says of Moro Canyon: “A picturesque canyon two miles long entering the ocean two miles northwest of Laguna Beach. The name is a misspelling of the Spanish word morro , meaning round, and is derived from a large dome of rock now called Abalone Point a short distance south of the canyon.”

It may be misspelled, but Moro Canyon is part of our history.

LAVINIA C. KNIGHT, Fullerton