Orange County Hopes to Awaken Pride in Past

More than a century ago, James Irvine stood on his property--maybe on the front porch of his mansion, on what is now the corner of Irvine Boulevard and Jamboree Road--and surveyed the thousands of open acres around him. He had an unobstructed, horseshoe-shaped view of the San Gabriel and Santa Ana mountains, of the Tustin hills that are now called Lemon Heights, of the San Joaquin hills that stretch toward Laguna Beach.

Irvine Ranch, his land was called. It was one of the most productive pieces of agricultural property in the country. And Orange County historians want to show you exactly what it was like back then.

Sort of.

The county plans to build a park on the property’s core, where dozens of original farm buildings and ranch hands’ homes still stand. Over the next few years, the structures will be renovated and restored and volunteer docents will give guided tours through the compound. Guests will walk among Irvine’s original orange groves and admire his majestic palm tree-lined driveway. They can peek inside the old woodshed where Boy Scout Troop 36 has been meeting for 50 years, since Irvine’s son inherited the ranch and launched the group. The park will focus on the period of 1876 to 1947.

The goal is to give residents a taste of Orange County’s history and--to the extent that they can do so on 16 1/2 acres, which is barely a fraction of the ranch’s original size--an idea of what it was like to live and work on a farm that so mightily influenced Southern California’s development, from crops and water management to land use.

“This was no little house on the prairie,” said Gail Daniels, president of the Irvine Historical Society. “This was a very, very prosperous and massive farm run by a very affluent family. So much of what we are today is because of Irvine Ranch. I think most people would be surprised by just how much.”

It was James Irvine, a prosperous and influential farmer, who fought with railroad officials over Southern Pacific’s placement of the first tracks to San Diego. He won. The route of today’s Santa Ana Freeway was likely traced from the first dusty roads leading in and out of Irvine Ranch. One of the county’s largest water districts was born from Irvine’s perpetual search for uninterrupted irrigation. And the Irvine family’s decision to open their vast landholdings to development shaped the history of construction in south Orange County.

County officials say the latest project at the ranch headquarters represents Orange County’s “coming of age,” and, they hope, a growing belief among residents that history here--finally--has some merit.

“At last, Orange County is shedding its yokes of cultural colonialism,” said Robert R. Selway, who manages the county’s historical programs. People used to suspect that in order to find treasures of the past, they had to drive someplace else, he said.

“We’re finally ready to acknowledge [Orange County’s] past and importance, because it is important,” he said.

Still, the blueprint for Irvine Ranch Headquarters Historic Park, as it will be called, is plagued with Southern California-style obstacles. Visitors are supposed to feel as though they are stepping back in time when they enter the grounds and stroll through the farm’s row crops, avocado trees and all 32 rooms of the reconstructed Irvine family mansion (the original was torn down after a fire in 1965).

But neon lights from the Tustin Market Place and the newly constructed Target and Eagle Hardware stores that tower near the entrance will no doubt require landscaping screens.

Even so, they are hopeful that the new park will be charming enough to attract visitors and authentic enough to interest schoolteachers in search of educational field trips. The plans call for several interactive exhibits geared toward children, such as the old scale house where farmers used to weigh their crops (the scales are massive enough to weigh an entire classroom of children).

To further broaden the park’s use, officials strongly support a proposal to turn the rebuilt Irvine mansion into a public library.

Completion of the park is likely several years away. Most of the farm buildings have long been vacant and neglected. They include the 82-year-old bunkhouse where single ranch workers lived, its bathhouse and the two-story mess hall built in 1906. The rambling red barn that historians refer to as the heart of Irvine Ranch is 100 years old and looks it.

While the Irvine Company donated the park’s land and pledged nearly $1 million to help pay for the relocation of several buildings and cottages onto the site, the Harbors, Beaches and Parks Department is expected to pay about $1 million for the restoration and property upgrades.

Officials hope to receive support from businesses to help cover some costs. They envision manicured lawns and preserved--yet functional--historical buildings that can generate a little income. Perhaps a small coffee shop in the downstairs portion of the old mess hall or a weekend farmer’s market in Irvine’s original driving barn. Huge eucalyptus trees would shield the compound from present-day reminders, and Boy Scouts could help tend some of the replanted crops.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” said county park ranger Dan Thomas. “But think of James Irvine, trying to take care of 125,000 acres of land way back then. Now here we are fretting about 16.”