LAKE FOREST : Park Offers Look at Old-Style Christmas

More than 2,000 people are expected to step into a living time capsule at Heritage Hill Historical Park on Saturday, experiencing Christmas much like their Orange County ancestors did more than 100 years ago.

The park is refuge to four buildings with an average age of 107 years, and volunteers have been busy all week decking them in period Christmas decorations for the 14th annual Victorian Christmas.

Instead of plastic tinsel, there will be red ribbons adorning the Christmas tree. Instead of plastic ornaments, paper decorations used at the turn of the century will hang from tree branches.

“We try to decorate how they would do it in the 1860s using the resources they had in those days,” said Heritage Hill ranger Dan Thomas. “In those times, they couldn’t run down to Kmart and get a string of lights.”

Along with tours of the buildings, which include a school, adobe, ranch house and church, the day will feature music, food, crafts and exhibits of historic items, from steam engines to antique postcards.

Running from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the day will be bigger than in the past, with more music and events planned, thanks to a $5,000 donation from the Lake Forest City Council to support Heritage Hill programs.

“I love Victorian Christmas,” Councilwoman Helen Wilson said. “I love Heritage Hill. It helps to promote the historical significance of the Saddleback Valley and it’s just a fun day as well.”

Wilson said the council “felt the city needed to take a more active part in helping the Hill.”

Heritage Hill Park got its start in the early 1970s when several historic buildings were slated for destruction. With the help of the county and a local historic society, land was found to provide a home for three buildings at the site of the Serrano Adobe, built in 1863.

The county purchased the property in 1974, moved the buildings to the site and opened Heritage Hill Historical Park.

“It’s one of the most historically significant places in Orange County,” Thomas said. “After you walk through the gates and look through the buildings, you definitely get a sense of how life was 100 years ago.”

The park is at 25151 Serrano Road. For information about tours or the Victorian Christmas event, call (714) 855-2028.