California State Historical Landmarks - Orange County

   NO. 1004 OLD TOWN IRVINE - Old Town Irvine stands today as a testament to the rich agricultural past of what has become one of California's most heavily urban counties. Founded in 1887 as the distribution and storage center of the 125,000-acre Irvine ranch, Old Town Irvine was to develop over the years a bean and grain storage warehouse (1895) and granary (1947) known as the Irvine Bean and Grain Grower's Building, a blacksmith's shop (1916), a hotel (1913), a general store (1911), and an employees' bungalow (1915). All of these structures have been rehabilitated for commercial uses and their exteriors have been painstakingly maintained.
Location:  Sand Canyon Ave and Burt Rd, Irvine

   NO. 112 NORTH GATE OF CITY OF ANAHEIM - A wall or fence of willow poles that took root and grew was planted around the Anaheim Colony to keep out the herds of wild cattle that roamed the surrounding country. Gates were erected at the north, east, south, and west ends of the two principal streets of the colony. The north gate, on the highway to Los Angeles, was the main entrance to the city. Location:  775 Anaheim Blvd at North St, Anaheim

   NO. 189 DANA POINT - Named for Richard Henry Dana, author of Two Years Before the Mast, who visited here in 1835. El Embarcadero, the cove below, was used by hide vessels trading with Mission San Juan Capistrano. This trade reached its peak in 1830-1840. In 1818 pirate Hipolito Bouchard, flying an Argentine flag, anchored his fleet here while raiding the mission.
Location:  Ken Sampson Overview, S of the Blue Lantern at Santa Clara Ave, Dana Point

   NO. 198 OLD LANDING - On September 10, 1870, Captain Samuel S. Dunnells opened Newport Bay to commerce when they entered it for the first time on the sternwheel steamer Vaquero. The landing was designated 'Newport'-a new port-by James Irvine, Benjamin Flint, James McFadden, and Robert McFadden.The McFaddens operated a regular shipping service here during the 1870s and 1880s. Location:  On Dover Dr 500 ft N of State Hwy 1, Newport Beach

   NO. 199 THE SERRANO ADOBE - Cañada de los Alisos, also called El Toro, was granted to José Serrano in 1842 by Governor Alvarado. Senor Serrano and his relatives erected a number of adobes on the grant, one of which still serves as private living quarters.
Location:  Heritage Hill, Serrano Regional Historic Village, NE corner Lake Forest Dr and Serrano Rd, El Toro
USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name:  EL TORO Listed on the National Register of Historic Places:  NPS-76000505

   NO. 200 MISSION SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO - Founded in 1776 by Padre Junípero Serra, this is the seventh in the chain of 21 missions established in Alta California to christianize and civilize the Indians. The stone church was destroyed in 1812 earthquake. Expropriated during Mexican rule, the mission was returned to the Catholic church in 1865 by proclamation of President Abraham Lincoln. Location:  NW corner of Ortega Hwy and Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano Listed on the National Register of Historic Places:  NPS-71000170

   NO. 201 PIONEER HOUSE OF THE MOTHER COLONY - Anaheim's first house, built in 1857 by Founder George Hanson. 'The Mother Colony,' a German group that left San Francisco to form a grape-growing colony in Southern California, selected the name given to this settlement. The vineyards, which became the largest in California, were destroyed by disease in 1885. The colony then started producing Valencia oranges. Here once resided actress Helena Modjeska and Henryk Sienkiewicz, author of Quo Vadis.
Location:  414 N West St near Sycamore St, Anaheim USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name:  ANAHEIM

   NO. 202 SILVERADO - Located in Cañada de la Madera (Timber Canyon) was a mining boomtown founded in 1878 when silver was discovered nearby. During the colorful life of its boom, 1878-1881, miners flocking to the area established a thriving community, served daily by stage from Los Angeles and Santa Ana.
Location:  Next to Silverado Fire Station #2, end of Silverado Canyon Rd, 3.4 mi E of Silverado post office, Silverado

   NO. 203 RED HILL - In early descriptions it was known as Cerrito de las Ranas, meaning the Hill of the Frogs. In the 1890s this hill became the scene of mining excitement. Its soil composition, very red in color, had caused early American settlers to name it Red Hill.
Location:  Church of the Covenant Elementary School, 11911 Red Hill Road, Santa Ana

   NO. 204 OLD SANTA ANA - Portolá camped on the bank of Santa Ana River in 1769, and José Antonio Yorba, a member of the expedition, later returned to Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana. El Camino Real crossed the river in this vicinity. The place was designated Santa Ana by travelers and known by that name until the present town of Santa Ana was founded. Location:  NW corner of Lincoln Ave and Orange Olive Rd, Orange

   NO. 205 MODJESKA'S HOME - Famous as the home of Madame Modjeska, one of the world's greatest actresses, the house was designed by Stanford White in 1888 and built on property called the 'Forest of Arden.' Sold soon after her retirement, it remains a monument to the woman who contributed immeasurably to the cultural life of Orange County.
Location:  Modjeska Canyon, 500 ft E of intersection of Modjeska Canyon Rd and Harding Canyon Rd, 8 mi NE of El Toro
USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name:  PALEN PASS
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places:  NPS-72000244

   NO. 217 BLACK STAR CANYON INDIAN VILLAGE SITE - The Indians who lived on the village located here had stolen some horses, and the whites followed them back to their camp. After a skirmish, the whites left with the horses that the Indians had not killed. In 1878 the Black Star Coal Mining Company had a mine at the mouth of the canyon. Location:  Black Star Canyon on Black Star Canyon Rd, 6.0 mi N of Silverado Canyon Rd, 9 mi N of Silverado

   NO. 218 BARTON MOUND - Juan Flores, who had escaped from San Quentin, was being sought by James Barton with a posse of five men. Near this mound, Flores surprised Barton and three of his men, all four were killed. When Los Angeles learned of the slaughter, posses were formed, and Flores and his men
were captured. Location:  SE corner of I-405 and State Hwy 133, 2 mi S of East Irvine

   NO. 219 ANAHEIM LANDING - Soon after the founding of the Mother Colony at Anaheim in 1857, the Anaheim Landing Company established Anaheim Landing as a port for the Santa Ana Valley. Despite treacherous entrance conditions that caused several disasters, regular coastwise trade was carried on here for about 15 years. Location:  NE corner of Seal Beach Blvd and Electric Ave, Seal Beach

   NO. 225 FLORES PEAK - In 1857, Juan Flores and a band of outlaws murdered Sheriff James Barton and part of his posse at Barton Mound. Pursued by a posse led by General Andrés Pico, Flores and his men were finally caught on Flores Peak. Location:  Flores Peak, Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary, N side of Modjeska Canyon Rd, Modjeska Canyon

   NO. 226 DON BERNARDO YORBA RANCHHOUSE SITE - Here Don Bernardo Yorba created the greatest rancho of California's Golden Age, combining the Santa Ana Grant awarded to his father by the King of Spain in 1810 and lands granted to him by Governor José Figueroa in 1834. He was the third son of José Antonio Yorba, who came with Don Gaspar de Portolá in 1769 to establish California's first family. Location:  NE corner of Esperanza Rd and Echo Hill Ln, Yorba Linda

   NO. 227 DIEGO SEPÚLVEDA ADOBE - This adobe house was built as a station of Mission San Juan Capistrano. After secularization the property became part of Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana, and the adobe was used as headquarters of Diego Sepúlveda, later owner of the rancho. Location:  Estancia Park, NW corner of Mesa Verde Dr W and Adams Ave, Costa Mesa
USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name:  NEWPORT BEACH

   NO. 228 CARBONDALE - This is the site of the 1878 coal discovery. The mine, called the Santa Clara, was operated by the Southern Pacific. The village of Carbondale was built on the flat. When the mine was closed down, Carbondale's buildings were moved away and today not one remains. Location:  Silverado Community Church entrance, Silverado Canyon Rd, 1.1 mi W of Silverado post office, Silverado

   NO. 729 OLD MAIZELAND SCHOOL (RIVERA SCHOOL) - Constructed in 1868, this was the first school in the Rivera District. It was previously located on Shugg Lane, now Slauson Avenue. Location:  Knott's Berry Farm, 8039 Beach Blvd, Buena Park
USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name:  LA HABRA

   NO. 775 SITE OF FIRST WATER-TO-WATER FLIGHT - On May 10, 1912, Glenn L. Martin flew his own plane, built in Santa Ana, from the waters of the Pacific Ocean at Balboa to Catalina Island. This was the first water-to-water flight, and the longest and fastest overwater flight, to that date. On his return to the mainland, Martin carried the day's mail from Catalina-another first.
Location:  S end of Main St at Ocean Front (Balboa), Newport Beach

   NO. 794 McFADDEN WHARF - The original wharf on this site was completed in the summer of 1888 by the McFadden brothers. As the seaward terminus of their Santa Ana and Newport Railway it became the funnel through which flowed a major part of the lumber and other goods that built Orange, San Bernardino, and Riverside Counties during the period from 1891 to 1907.
Location:  Newport Pier, SE corner of W Ocean Front and McFadden Place, Newport Beach

   NO. 837 ORANGE COUNTY'S ORIGINAL COURTHOUSE - Built in 1900 of Arizona red sandstone, this is the oldest existing county courthouse in Southern California. Significant and far-reaching court decisions were handed down here, including the 'Whipstock' case dealing with slant oil drilling, interpretation of farm labor law, and the Overell trial which resulted in law regulating explosives. Location:  211 W Santa Ana Blvd at Broadway, Santa Ana
USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name:  PALEN PASS Listed on the National Register of Historic Places:  NPS-84000438

   NO. 918 OLINDA - From 1897, when oil pioneer Edward L. Doheny brought in the first well, to the 1940s, the boom town of Olinda sprawled over the surrounding hills. To the north was the Chanslor-Candfield Midway Oil Lease and, to the south, the Olinda Crude Oil Lease. Walter Perry Johnson, of Baseball's Hall of Fame, spent his boyhood here. Location:  Carbon Canyon Regional Park, 4442 Carbon Canyon Rd, Brea

   NO. 959 BALBOA PAVILION - This is one of California's last surviving examples of the great waterfront recreational pavilions from the turn of the century. Built in 1905 by the Newport Bay Investment Company, it played a prominent role in the development of Newport Beach as a seaside recreation area. In 1906, it became the southern terminus for the Pacific Electric Railway connecting the beach with downtown Los Angeles. The railway's Red Cars connected the beach with Los Angeles in only one hour. Location:  400 Main St, Balboa USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name:  NEWPORT BEACH