ORANGE COUNTY ALMANAC : No Silver Lining in 1877
Prospectors stormed the Santa Ana Valley in 1877 on hearing that silver had been discovered in the area.
About 300 miners set up camp. The valley’s name was changed to Silverado Canyon, and within five years it soon had three hotels and seven saloons. But by 1887, only one mine was profitable, and the area was soon all but abandoned.
Source: “Orange County: Indians to Industry,” by C.E. and Marilyn Parker
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