Landmarks in Orange County

Landmarks in Orange CountyDon Gaspar de Portol led the first overland expedition through the area that would become Orange County in 1769. Father Junpero Serra founded Mission San Juan Capistrano in 1776. In 1857, a group of German immigrants living in San Francisco bought a portion of the Rancho San Juan Cajon de Santa Ana to start a new community, built on wine making, founding Anaheim. In 1868, vast areas on either side of the Santa Ana River were placed on the market and

Don Gaspar de Portol‡ led the first overland expedition through the area that would become Orange County in 1769. Father Jun’pero Serra founded Mission San Juan Capistrano in 1776. In 1857, a group of German immigrants living in San Francisco bought a portion of the Rancho San Juan Cajon de Santa Ana to start a new community, built on wine making, founding Anaheim. In 1868, vast areas on either side of the Santa Ana River were placed on the market and the towns of Santa Ana, Tustin, Orange, Westminster and Garden Grove were soon founded. Agriculture became the backbone of the local economy. The burst of economic growth and local pride in the late 1880s led to the formation of the County of Orange in 1889.

SoCal Landmarks featured landmarks located in Orange County in its social media posts on each day in August 2023, as just a visual sampling of the countyÕs history and diversity.

A portion of the proceeds from this book will be donated to local organizations working to protect and preserve historical landmarks in Southern California.

SoCal Landmarks is an ongoing project to document the myriad sites, buildings, structures, monuments, and other natural and historical points of interest and/or importance that are considered locally, regionally and/or nationally as landmarks in the ten counties - Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Kern and San Luis Obispo - stretching from the Colorado River to the Pacific Ocean and from the Mexican border to 35¡ 47' 28" North latitude, the northern border of San Luis Obispo, Kern, and San Bernardino counties.