Citrus groves once ‘dominated and defined much of the landscape’

For most of Orange County’s history, agriculture dominated our economy, culture and daily life. Our fertile soil, idyllic climate and resourceful citizens made it an ideal place to grow almost anything. We promoted ourselves as “nature’s prolific wonderland.”

Agriculture in Orange County began at Mission San Juan Capistrano. Under the direction of the padres, the Juaneño Indians produced wheat, barley, corn and beans. Inside the mission walls, vineyards and various non-native fruits and vegetables were grown. And tens of thousands of cattle from Mission San Juan Capistrano and Mission San Gabriel ranged over much of today’s Orange County and beyond.

According to local historian Stephanie George, the story of Orange County agriculture is cyclical and goes something like this:

1. We find a crop that grows well here.

2. Orange County becomes a leader in the production of that crop.

3. Blight, disease or weather wipes out that crop.

4. We search for another profitable crop that can thrive here.

5. “Lather, rinse, repeat.”

The vast Spanish and Mexican ranchos (1780s-1860s) that sprawled over most of Orange County thrived on the raising of cattle until floods, drought and legal expenses spelled their doom. With the loss of so many cattle, flocks of more drought-tolerant sheep became common.

Until significant irrigation systems were developed, farmers relied on rain and the changing seasons with mixed results. Dryland farming allowed for crops like barley, other grain and deciduous fruits. The latter included apricots — grown extensively in the late 1800s and early 1900s — which were halved, pitted, preserved with sulfur and dried in the sun on large trays before shipping.

Anaheim was founded as a vineyard colony by immigrants — mostly of German extraction — in 1857. The wine sold well from coast to coast, and business thrived for years. But in the 1880s the vineyards were decimated by Pierce’s Disease. By the 1890s, growers were turning to other crops, including walnuts. Ironically, it was during this era that the railroads arrived and made it simple and affordable to ship our goods to a much larger market. Our economy boomed, but wine would no longer be among our many exports.

Prior to World War I, Orange County was the walnut-producing capital of the world. But new insect threats in the 1910s and 1920s made walnuts less and less profitable.

In the 1890s and early 1900s, Orange County was the nation’s leading source of celery. The crop grew well in the rich marshy soil around Westminster and Huntington Beach until a blight hit around 1905.

Vast fields of sugar beets and the first of five sugar factories came to Orange County in the 1890s. And from the early 1890s until the onset of weevils in the 1920s, chili peppers were also a major cash crop.

Avocados began to be grown commercially in north Orange County in the early 1910s. And La Habra postman Rudolph Hass originated the popular Hass avocado in adjacent La Habra Heights in the 1920s.

The commercial growing of berries here began in the 1910s and 1920s. The leading grower was Walter Knott, near Buena Park, whose success became stardom when he introduced the boysenberry to the world in 1934. This hybrid berry was developed by Rudy Boysen, who went on to become Anaheim’s park superintendent.

Limas, blackeyes and other bean varieties grew well in central and southern Orange County. At one time, the Irvine Ranch held a world record, with more than 60,000 acres of lima beans in production. Beans briefly rivaled even the financial prowess of citrus, but they were never as sexy.

Commercial Valencia orange groves — which became our bread and butter for over half a century — did not appear here until 1875 (five years after the name “Orange County” was first suggested). The Valencia orange was later nationally popularized by Charles C. Chapman of Fullerton and became Orange County’s primary crop, reaching a peak of 77,000 acres in production in 1948.

Citrus growers associations and cooperatives were a major force in civic life, groves dominated and defined much of the landscape, and a well-timed labor strike (like the 1936 citrus strike) could cause community-wide panic.

But, ultimately, even citrus was caught in our “lather, rinse, repeat” cycle. It wasn’t just development and economics that took the oranges from Orange County in the decades after World War II. A virus called “quick decline” was also to blame. The crops that replaced citrus were rows of tract homes, orchards of condos and fields full of retail development — all of which seem impervious to darn near everything.

Still, Orange County’s resourceful farmers found a way. For instance, it was discovered that even a small field of strawberries, wedged between housing tracts, could turn a significant profit. By 1968, strawberries were the county’s most profitable crop, with 1,775 acres in production. Commercial nurseries also flourished as demand for landscaping grew.

Today, farming and ranching no longer dominate Orange County’s economy. But our remaining pockets of agriculture still generate many millions of dollars, provide a welcome contrast to suburban concrete and stucco, and help keep us in touch with our roots.

Local historian Chris Jepsen (CJepsen@socal.rr.com) is president of the Orange County Historical Society and assistant archivist at the Orange County Archives.