Santa Ana City Library History Room

Ever wonder what your neighborhood looked like 40 or 50 years ago, maybe even earlier? Many Orange County cities did not exist then, but the county’s historical record stretches back a long way. And much of it is documented at the Santa Ana City Library History Room.

The collection includes information on the entire county, not just Santa Ana. In fact, it has Orange County telephone directories dating back to 1928 and back issues of defunct newspapers and magazines.

There’s the Sunday Globe, published in the mid-1940s; the Santa Ana Journal, from the mid-1930s, and the Santa Ana Times, published from 1928 to 1930. There are also copies of a newspaper published at the Santa Ana Army Air Base during World War II. The Orange County Farm Bureau News, from 1928, documents the area’s agricultural roots.

Madame Helena Modjeska’s autobiography, “Memories and Impressions,” is available here along with a book from her personal library. The book, a collection of Voltaire’s complete works published in French, is elegantly bound and affixed with Modjeska’s insignia.

The books of Orange County historians Jim Sleeper, Karen Wilson Turnbull, Spencer Crump and Donaldson Meyers occupy space near a collection of community cookbooks.

There is also a two-volume collection of World War II newspaper clippings about Orange County servicemen.

“Some meticulous citizen clipped each Service News column and pasted them into leather-bound scrapbooks,” said Anne Harder, History Room director since 1979. “They were kind enough to donate them, so now we have information on Orange County residents who served in World War II.”

The History Room’s eclectic collection of ephemera, pamphlets, photographs, maps, government documents and clippings is often used to research older homes, businesses or historical events.

The materials are also used by genealogists and those who just want to become better acquainted with the county’s past.

The collection, which used to be housed in an out-of-the-way room on the second floor, was moved to the first floor and given greater prominence when the library was remodeled last year. The California Reference Collection, a cache of 2,800 books on California history, was brought up from the basement and given space in the History Room where it is now more accessible.

Harder hopes the collection will continue to grow through donations.

“We’ve been very fortunate to receive some interesting documents from the county’s founding families. We are always looking for ways to make the collection more complete and useful,” she said.

Hours: 2 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday

Address: 26 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana

Telephone: (714) 647-5250

Miscellaneous information: Materials are for reference only and may not be checked out. However, most can be photocopied.