Compiled by the Orange County Archives
JANUARY
1
1953: Senator, Vice-President elect, and Yorba Linda native Richard M. Nixon serves as
Grand Marshall of the Rose Parade in Pasadena.
2
1962: Villa Park votes to incorporate as a city. The measure passes 257 to 134.
3
1984: Grand reopening of the newly revamped Orange County Zoo in Irvine Park.
4
1889: Assemblyman E.E. Edwards introduced a bill to create the County of Orange.
5
1908: The last wild grizzly bear in California is killed in Holy Jim Canyon.
6
1872: "Orange County" is first put forth as a possible name for a new county at a meeting
in Gallatin (now part of Downey).
7
8
1925: Willard Smith is elected Chairman of the Board of Supervisors. This began his 30-year
tenure on the Board -- longer than any other supervisor.
9
1873: Orange Post Office established.
1913: Richard M. Nixon was born in Yorba Linda.
1987: The Star Tours ride opens at Disneyland.
10
1921: Actress Bebe Daniels is arrested for speeding on East First St. in Santa Ana.
1969: The new County Courthouse is dedicated.
11
1949: Snow fell throughout Orange County. It also fell on this date in 1882.
1962: The City of Villa Park is incorporated.
12
1925: La Habra voted to incorporate as a city. The measure passes, 311 to 146.
13
1847: The Treaty of Cahuenga signed at what is now North Hollywood, securing American
control of California.
14
2008: Sheriff Mike Corona resigns from office.
15
1859: The Los Angeles Vineyard Society selected a name for their new community:
Anaheim. The name combines "Ana" (named for the river), and “Heim,” German for home.
16
1825: José Antonio Yorba dies.
17
1875: The first passenger train arrives In Anaheim (Southern Pacific Railroad).
1994: Orange County is awakened at 4:30 a.m. by the Northridge Quake, which registered
6.7 on the Richter Scale.
18
1988: A large storm destroyed a large section of the Huntington Beach pier, including the
End Café.
19
1916: Santa Ana River changes course during a storm, cutting a path directly to the sea
rather than emptying into Newport Bay.
20
1915: The father of Santa Ana, William Henry "Uncle Billy" Spurgeon died.
21
1770: On the return trip to Mexico, Portola's party camps in Christianitos Canyon.
22
1862: The largest flood in OC's recorded history puts most of western OC under water.
1904: Fullerton votes to incorporate as a city. The measure passes 185 to 44.
“This Day in History” Calendar
Orange County
23
1890: Cordelia Knott was born.
24
1914: Bay City Post Office renamed Seal Beach Post Office.
25
1980: Groundbreaking ceremonies are held for the Orange County Marine Institute at
Dana Point.
26
1886: The Santa Ana, Orange & Tustin Street Railway Co. is formed. This was the Orange
County's first horse-car line.
1994: Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin ride opens at Disneyland.
27
1938: The rains began that produced the Great Flood of 1938.
1953: The City of Buena Park is incorporated.
28
1954: Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church was born in San Jose.
29
1917: Singer/actor John Raitt is born in Santa Ana.
30
1884: Orange County’s first architect, Frederick H. Eley, was born in Colchester, England.
31
1957: Famed Olympic swimmer and Huntington Beach mail carrier Shirley Babashoff is
born in Whittier, California.
FEBRUARY
1
1827: Jedediah Strong Smith is the first American to reach Mexican California over land.
2
1848: Orange County, with the rest of California, is ceded to the United States by Mexico in
the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo.
1887: Olive Post Office established in what is now part of Orange.
3
2012: Roadside signs were dedicated marking the I-5 Freeway through San Clemente as the
"Officer Richard T. Steed Memorial Highway."
4
1974: Patty Hearst was kidnapped. Eventually, she'd end up hiding out with member of the
Symbionese Liberation Army in an Anaheim motel.
5
1891: Doubles tennis champ Elizabeth Ryan is born in Anaheim.
6
1983: Private funeral service for popular singer Karen Carpenter at Forest Lawn Cemetery
in Cypress.
7
8
1897: Los Alamitos Post Office established.
2001: Disney's California Adventure theme park opened to the public.
9
1990: The tanker American Trader spilled 400,000 gallons of oil off the coast of Huntington
Beach.
10
1941: The Santa Ana Register reports that the first 88 Orange County men have been
drafted.
11
1943: Representatives from Orange County packing houses meet to discuss hiring seasonal
laborers from Mexico to alleviate the wartime labor shortage.
12
1895: Talega Post Office is established. It was discontinued the following year.
13
1960: Olympic silver medalist (1984) diver Kelly McCormick is born in Anaheim.
14
1886: The first trainload of oranges from California is sent east on the transcontinental
railroad.
15
1904: The City of Fullerton is incorporated.
1936: Bowers Museum opened in Santa Ana.
1942: The Santa Ana Army Air Base is officially opened.
16
1841: Rancho Trabuco is provisionally granted to Santiago Arguello. In April 1846, it is
formally granted to Juan Forster.
17
1909: The City of Huntington Beach was incorporated. The first mayor was Ed Manning.
18
1887: The Orange, McPherson & Modena Street Railway Co. is incorporated.
19
20
1986: WED Enterprises, first created in 1952 to design Disneyland, is renamed Walt Disney
Imagineering.
21
22
1942: The Wagon Train show (aka the Cyclorama) opens in the Gold Trails Hotel at Knott's
Berry Farm.
23
1917: The City of Brea incorporates with a population of 732.
24
1857: A group of German immigrants meet in San Francisco to form the Los Angeles
Vineyard Society, which would later found Anaheim.
25
1942: The first aviation cadets arrive for training at Santa Ana Army Air Base in what is now
Costa Mesa.
26
1886: Bolsa Post Office established.
27
1928: San Clemente is incorporated with a population of about 650.
28
1919: Jack "the Original Human Fly" Williams scales the outside of Santa Ana's landmark
Spurgeon Building.
MARCH
1
1960: The City of Los Alamitos is incorporated.
2
1934: Police radio is used for the first time in Orange County -- broadcast from the County
jail. First message was that outlaw Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd was seen west of Anaheim.
1999: The City of Laguna Woods is incorporated.
3
1938: After weeks of heavy rain, a wall of water of Santa Ana Canyon floods central county.
4
1972: Bear Country and the Country Bear Jamboree show opened at Disneyland. The
Jamboree closed in 2001.
5
1991: Laguna Hills incorporates.
1991: Lake Forest votes to incorporate as a city. The measure passes 5,590 to 2,614.
6
2001: Aliso Viejo votes to incorporate as a city. The vote succeeds 4,053 to 290.
7
1887: The tract map for the Town of McPherson (now part of Orange) is filed with the
County of Los Angeles.
8
1951: The first El Toro Marines to return home from Korea arrive in Orange County.
9
1952: The Santa Ana Zoo is dedicated at Prentice Park.
10
1933: A severe (approx 6.4 on Richter scale) earthquake hit Orange County at 5:54 pm. It
was centered 3 ½ miles southwest of Newport Beach.
11
1889: Governor Robert Waterman signed the bill allowing the vote that ultimately created
the new County of Orange.
1919: Oil is discovered in Placentia.
12
1987: OC rock band No Doubt plays their first real gig at Fender's Ballroom in Long Beach.
13
14
15
1947: The yacht Mary E is blown up in Newport Harbor, killing two people and leading to
the infamous Overell Trial.
1958: The State Public Works Board selects the site for what would become Cal State
Fullerton.
1967: Opening Day for South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa.
16
1877: Garden Grove Post Office established.
17
1943: Marine Corps Air Station El Toro is commissioned.
18
1967: Pirates of the Caribbean opens to the public at Disneyland.
19
1975: Laguna Beach's official Greeter, Eiler Larsen, dies at age 84.
20
1888: Villa Park Post Office established.
21
1929: Dana Point Post Office established.
2006: "The Real Housewives of the OC," debuts on the Bravo cable network.
22
1963: Angels pitcher Rich Monteleone is born in Tampa, Florida.
23
1868: The University of California is chartered.
24
1888: Fullerton Post Office established.
25
1909: Harper Post Office is established in what is now Costa Mesa. The name changed to
Costa Mesa in 1920.
26
27
1955: Rev. Robert Schuller preaches his first sermon in Orange County from the roof of a
snack bar at Orange Drive-In Theater.
1957: The City of Westminster is incorporated.
28
1967: Angels pitcher Shawn Boskie is born in Hawthorne, Nevada.
29
30
1913: Artist Marc Davis, who would create the look of some of Disneyland's best-loved
attractions, is born in Bakersfield, California.
31
1946: Santa Ana Army Air Base inactivated.
APRIL
1
1943: Marine Corps Air Station El Toro is dedicated.
1966: Orange County experienced its first smog alert.
2
1959: Garden Grove's first annual Strawberry Festival opens.
3
1888: Fairview Post Office established in what is now part of Costa Mesa.
4
1845: Rancho Mission Vieja is granted to Augustin Olvera. It is also known as Rancho La
Paz.
5
1923: Henry Segerstrom is born in Santa Ana.
1943: Surfside Post Office established.
6
1888: City of Orange incorporates.
7
1990: Aliso and Wood Canyons Regional Park opens.
8
1909: Actress Helena Modjeska died at her home on Bay Island in Newport Beach.
9
1951: The Marine Corps' first helicopter transport squadron begins operation at the
former Navy lighter-than-air base in Tustin.
1964: The California Angels announced they were moving to Anaheim.
10
11
1912: Original Stanton Post Office established.
12
13
1951: An effigy of President Truman is hung from a tree in Santa Ana in protest of his
firing of Gen. Douglas MacArthur.
14
1908: The Orange Daily News begins publication.
15
1983: Donald L. Bren purchases a controlling interest in The Irvine Company for
approximately $400 million.
16
17
1956: Garden Grove votes to incorporate as a City. The measure passes 5,780 to 2,346.
18
1954: The Victor Hugo Inn in Laguna Beach was gutted by fire.
19
1961: The City of San Juan Capistrano is incorporated.
20
21
1846: Rancho Trabuco is formally granted to Juan Forster.
22
1850: Orange County's second Sheriff, Theo "Budge" Lacy is born in Lacy Springs,
Alabama.
23
1974: Cordelia Knott died in Buena Park.
24
25
1914: Harbor Post Office is established in South Santa Ana.
26
1958: Disney first uses the cast of its popular Zorro T.V. series for a live performance at
Disneyland.
27
1994: Richard Nixon is laid to rest mere yards from his Yorba Linda birthplace. Presidents
Clinton, Carter, Reagan, Bush and Ford attend the service.
28
29
1958: Actress Michelle Pfeiffer was born in Santa Ana. The family later moved to Midway
City and eventually to Fountain Valley.
30
MAY
1
1974: Tennis star Keri Phebus is born in Laguna Beach.
2
2006: Disneyland welcomes 12-year old Emmalee Mason of Colorado Springs, Colorado -
the honorary two-billionth guest to visit a Disney Park.
3
1958: Mott's Miniatures opens in the historic Jeffries Barn, at Knott's Berry Farm. Mott's
left the park in 1992.
4
1962: Movieland Wax Museum in Buena Park has its grand opening.
5
1891: Buena Park School District is formed.
6
1967: Governor Ronald Reagan and the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels help dedicate Orange
County's new airport terminal.
7
1846: Rancho Boca de la Playa is granted to Emigdio Vejar.
8
1984: The USSR announces a boycott of the Summer Olympic Games, some of which are to
be held in Orange County.
9
10
1912: Glenn L. Martin made the first water-to-water airplane flight, from Newport Beach to
Avalon Bay.
1974: The 1,000,000th telephone in Orange County was installed in a home in Anaheim.
11
1920: The town of Harper officially changed its name to Costa Mesa.
12
13
1946: The County resumed control of the Orange County Airport, in the wake of WWII.
14
1963: Angels catcher Pat Borders is born in Columbus, Ohio.
15
1956: Stanton votes to incorporate as a city for the second time. It had previously been
incorporated from 1911 to 1924.
16
17
1782: Jose Antonio Yorba marries Maria Josefa.
18
1999: Anaheim's first Historic District is created.
19
20
1899: Myford Post Office established in Irvine.
21
1966: Groundbreaking ceremonies are held for a new jail and Sheriff's headquarters at
Sixth and Flower Streets in Santa Ana.
22
1834: Rancho Las Bolsas (originally part of the Nieto Ranch) is granted to Catarina Ruiz.
23
24
1920: Oil is discovered in Huntington Beach.
25
1906: City of Santa Ana’s “Chinatown” burns down.
26
1846: Rancho Lomas de Santiago is granted to Teodocio Yorba. This later became the
northern end of the Irvine Ranch.
27
1977: Grand opening of Disneyland's Space Mountain.
28
1966: Transplanted from the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair, "It's a Small World" ride
opens at Disneyland.
29
1888: El Toro Post Office established.
30
1911: The first American flag to fly over Yorba Linda is flown from a flagpole on a small
barn on Main Street.
31
1882: Garden Grove's Strawberry Festival was held this evening and was a great success,
raising $25.
JUNE
1
1886: The City of Santa Ana incorporates. William H. Spurgeon was the first mayor.
2
3
4
1889: Locals vote 2,505 to 499 to separate from Los Angeles County and form Orange
County.
5
1867: Capistrano Post Office is established.
1931: 1st Annual Horn Toad Derby is held in Santa Ana with 54 entrants, $1,000 in prizes.
6
1959: The Submarine Voyage ride opens at Disneyland.
1975: Knott's Berry Farm opens their Roaring 20s-themed area.
1978: Proposition 13 is voted into law.
7
1966: Future President Ronald Reagan becomes the 22nd California governor.
1988: Dana Point votes to incorporate as a city. The measure passes 6,948 to 1,818.
8
1960: Olympic beach volleyball player Linda Hanley is born in Laguna Beach.
9
1940: The Pacific Electric discontinues service on its Balboa line, except for one daily round
trip franchise run.
10
2008: Sandra Hutchens is appointed Sheriff by the Board of Supervisors. She becomes
Orange County's first female Sheriff.
11
1979: Actor and Newport Beach resident John Wayne died of cancer. Orange County
airport was later renamed in his honor.
12
1895: Clair Post Office is established. Clair is now between Stanton and Anaheim.
13
1957: The City of Fountain Valley is incorporated.
14
1925: World champion swimmer and surfer Duke Kahanamoku rescued seven men from a
capsized boat at the mouth of Newport Harbor using his surfboard.
1959: The Monorail and Matterhorn Bobsleds make their debut at Disneyland.
1974: Supervisor Ronald Caspers and nine others are lost at sea during a storm off the
coast of Baja California.
15
1900: The first dance pavilion at Orange County Park (now Irvine Park) is dedicated.
16
1887: Orange has its first "Grand Auction Sale" of town lots. 75 lots and 5 acre tracts were
for sale.
17
1904: The Pacific Electric Railway opens its line from Long Beach to Huntington Beach.
1994: Murder suspect O.J. Simpson led law enforcement on a nationally televised slow
speed freeway chase from Irvine to his home in Brentwood.
18
1956: The City of Garden Grove is incorporated.
19
1861: Anaheim Post Office established.
1954: The Haunted Shack opens at Knott's Berry Farm. It was closed in 2000.
20
1914: Santa Ana Elks Lodge laid the cornerstone for the new concrete pier at Huntington
Beach. Celebration that followed included the first known demonstration of surfing in the
US.
1964: President Lyndon B. Johnson speaks at the dedication of the University of California
Irvine campus.
21
1842: Rancho Niguel is granted to Juan Avila.
1889: The Arch Beach Post Office is established in Laguna Beach. It was discontinued in
June 1894.
22
1905: Huntington Beach Post Office established.
1927: Laguna Beach votes to incorporate as a city. The measure passes 278 to 187.
23
1963: The Enchanted Tiki Room opens at Disneyland.
24
2007: El Toro "Great Park" promotional balloon ride cleared for flying by the Federal
Aviation Agency.
25
1948: Pilot Billy Lear breaks San Diego to Santa Ana record.
1965: Tragic crash of a Marine Corps transport plane near El Toro killed 84 Marines.
26
1956: Cypress votes to incorporate as a city. The measure passes by 217 to 73.
27
1542: Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo claims California for Spain.
28
1925: The first annual Old Timers' Picnic is held at Orange County Park (now Irvine Park).
29
1927: Laguna Beach is incorporated with a population of 1,900.
1953: The City of Costa Mesa incorporated. The community had 16,840 residents.
30
1880: Yorba Post Office is established.
1950: Pacific Electric discontinues its Newport Beach line.
JULY
1
1946: Tech. Sgt. William L. Durkin, El Toro Marine Air Station, rescues Howard Hughes from
the wreckage of an experimental plane.
1999: El Toro Marine Corps Air Station officially closes.
2001: Aliso Viejo incorporates.
2
1967: The PeopleMover ride opens at Disneyland. It closed in August 1995.
3
1950: The last Pacific Electric "Red Car" arrives in Santa Ana in wee small hours of the
morning. This was the end of passenger trolley service in Orange County.
4
1900: The cornerstone is placed for the Orange County Courthouse.
1904: The first Pacific Electric Red Car arrives in Orange County as the Huntington Beach
line opens. Two years later, the first Pacific Electric Red car arrives in Balboa.
5
1870: Santa Ana Post Office established.
1887: Edward Amerige drove a stake into a mustard field at what is now the corner of
Harbor Blvd and Commonwealth Ave., and the town site of Fullerton was born.
6
1936: Hundreds of striking union members marched through Orange County's citrus
groves, sparking the “Citrus War” of 1936.
7
1966: Construction of breakwaters begins at Dana Point.
8
9
10
11
1889: Orange Countians select Santa Ana as the county seat, and elect the first Orange
County Board of Supervisors.
1969: John Wayne and his son, John Ethan, are the first to ride Knott's Berry Farm's new
Timber Mountain Log Ride on its opening day.
12
13
2007: Media given preview rides in El Toro "OC Great Park" promotional balloon.
14
1895: Anaheim Park Superintendent and boysenberry creator Rudolph "Rudy" Boysen is
born in Merced County.
15
16
1926: Corona del Mar Post Office established.
1967: Comedian Will Ferrell born in Irvine.
17
1889: Santa Ana is selected as the county seat. The County's first officers were elected.
1955: Disneyland is dedicated on a live national TV broadcast. Preview guests invited only.
18
1953: Second day of the National Boy Scout Jamboree takes place on the Irvine Ranch. The
Jamboree ran from July 17 through July 23.
1955: Disneyland opens its gates to the public for the first time.
1992: The new concrete pier at Huntington Beach was dedicated.
19
1912: Yorba Linda Post Office established.
1990: Presidents Bush, Reagan, Ford and Nixon attended the dedication of the Richard
Nixon Library & Birthplace in Yorba Linda, which opened to the public the following day.
20
21
22
1769: Orange County's recorded history begins. Portola camps at Christianitos Canyon, on
the OC line in Camp Pendleton. First California baptism.
23
1915: OC citrus mogul David Hewes died at age 93. He is most famous as the man who
provided the golden spike for the 1869 ceremony completing the transcontinental railroad.
24
1956: Cypress was incorporated under the name Dairy City.
25
1959: The Ernest S. Marsh locomotive takes its inaugural run around Disneyland at the
hands of Walt Disney. (Named after the president of the Sante Fe Railway.)
26
1769: Portola's party celebrates Mass on St. Anne's day, while camped in Trabuco Canyon.
They name surrounding mountains the Santa Ana Mts.
27
1769: Portola's party discovers and names Santiago Canyon in honor of Spain's patron
saint.
28
1769: Portola's party experienced a large quake (about 6.0 on the Richter scale) on the
Newport-Inglewood fault while stopped at the Santa Ana River near Olive.
29
1984: The bicycling events for the Summer Olympics are held in Mission Viejo.
30
1951: Contract is awarded for the construction of the 75-bed Hoag Memorial Hospital in
Newport Beach.
31
1971: Dana Point Harbor is dedicated.
AUGUST
1
1889: The County of Orange officially comes into existence.
2
1960: Rossmoor puts incorporation to a vote, which fails 1,188 to 1,708.
3
1965: Highway inspector Rex Heflin takes several now-famous Polaroid photos of a "UFO"
near Myford Road and the Santa Ana Freeway.
4
1801: Bernardo Antonio Yorba is born in San Diego. He would help develop his family's
Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana and later received his own grant in Santa Ana Canyon,
where he built a huge adobe house.
1915: Orange County's most spectacular train wreck happens on the AT&SF near Yorba
Station. A runaway oil tank car hit a passenger train, killing three and injuring 30 more.
1941: The new Huntington Beach State Park is approved.
5
1889: The first meeting of the Orange County Board of Supervisors is held.
1905: The Pacific Electric Railroad opens its line from Huntington Beach to Newport Beach.
2003: "The OC," a teen soap opera set in Newport Beach, debuted on the Fox network.
6
1877: The Santa Ana Valley Irrigation Company incorporates to provide water to farmers in
the Olive area, Orange, Santa Ana, and Tustin.
1945: Army Staff Sgt. Kazuo Masuda of Santa Ana was posthumously awarded the
Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism in the Italian campaign.
1957: Dairy City changed its name to Cypress.
7
1967: Angels pitcher Jason Grimsley is born in Cleveland, Texas.
8
9
1969: The Haunted Mansion opens at Disneyland.
1974: After resgining the Presidency, Richard Nixon returns to Orange County. His plane is
greeted by 8,000 supporters at El Toro MCAS.
10
1909: Guitar master Leo Fender is born in Santa Ana.
11
1891: Newport Beach Post Office established.
12
1912: The Yorba Linda Post Office was established.
13
1932: The first Festival of the Arts is held in Laguna Beach. The event, held on El Paseo St.,
was organized by artist John Hinchman.
14
15
1907: The Southern Pacific Railroad completes its "Orange County Loop Line," which
includes stops in Santa Ana, Anaheim, Newport, Huntington Beach, Stanton and Smeltzer.
16
1878: Isaac J. Frazee makes a small sketch of Laguna Beach -- the earliest known image of
that location.
1887: Orange has its first "Grand Auction Sale" of town lots. 75 lots and 5 acre tracts were
for sale.
1971: The Mall of Orange opens. The opening date was selected by a psychic as especially
propitious.
17
1846: U.S. fleet officer Robert F. Stockton annexes California on behalf of the US.
18
1887: The map for the town site of Fullerton is filed with the County of Los Angeles.
19
1963: Actor John Stamos (General Hospital, Full House) is born in Cypress, California.
20
21
1906: Newport Beach votes to incorporate as a city. The measure passes 44 to 12.
22
1887: Buena Park Post Office established.
23
24
1968: Angels outfielder Tim Salmon is born in Long Beach, California.
25
26
27
1878: Siverado Post Office is established in Silverado Canyon.
28
1899: K.E. Watson takes over Orange Drug Store.
29
1966: Ground is broken for Dana Point Harbor.
30
1946: Coast Community College District was formed to aquire Santa Ana Army Air Base
property for a junior college (Orange Coast College).
31
1973: The first International Street Fair opens in Orange, based on a similar fair held in
1910.
SEPTEMBER
1
1873: Orange Post Office established.
1906: The City of Newport Beach is incorporated.
2
1985: Adventure Thru Inner Space ride closes at Disneyland. It opened in 1967.
3
1984: President Ronald Reagan kicks off his re-election campaign with a speech at Mile
Square Park in Fountain Valley.
4
1781: Los Angeles is founded.
5
1970: Lori Harrigan, pitcher for the gold medal-winning 1996 U.S. Olympic women's
softball team, is born in Anaheim.
6
7
1806: The church at Mission San Juan Capistrano is dedicated.
8
1990: The Thomas F. Riley Terminal at John Wayne Airport is dedicated.
9
1850: President Millard Fillmore signed a bill making California the 31st State.
1919: "Orange County's Welcome Home Celebration" for WWI veterans draws 30,000
patriots to Orange County Park (now Irvine Park).
10
1870: Newport Bay opens for commerce with the arrival of the steamer Vaquero.
1889: OC’s first high school, Santa Ana High School, opens.
11
1959: Lee Harvey Oswald was given a hardship release from the Third Marine Air Wing at El
Toro Air Station.
1967: Fashion Island shopping center opens for business in Newport Beach.
12
1913: The Pacific Electric railway begins service to Alamitos Bay and Seal Beach (then called
Bay City).
1986: The movie "Captain EO," starring Michael Jackson and directed by Francis Ford
Coppola, opens in Disneyland's Magic Eye Theater.
13
14
1980: The Crystal Cathedral is dedicated in Garden Grove.
15
1887: Rail service (Santa Fe RR) between San Bernardino and Santa Ana begins.
1958: The Viewliner narrow-gauge train ride closes at Disneyland, after less than 15
months of operation.
1979: Grand opening of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland.
2006: Opening Day of Henry and Renee Segerstrom Concert Hall.
16
1834: Mexico secularizes California's missions.
17
1941: County Counsel office created. Joel Ogle appointed.
1984: Reggie Jackson hits his 500th home run at Angel Stadium.
18
1882: The Pacific Stock Exchange opens in San Francisco.
19
1940: Singer Bill Medley, later an OC resident, is born in Bell, CA.
1967: Angels pitcher Jim Abbott is born in Flint, Michigan.
20
1827: City of Orange founder Andrew Glassell is born in Orange County, Virginia.
21
1927: Tustin is incorporated with a population of 500.
1939: Orange County is hit by a major hurricane, called a chubasco.
22
1957: Orange County State College (later called California State University Fullerton) is
founded.
23
1924: Laguna Beach Constable and Deputy Sherriff Howard Cox was ambushed by
bootleggers, but survived.
24
25
1886: The first edition of the Pacific Weekly Blade is published. (Later known as the Santa
Ana Blade.)
26
1967: Actress Martha Nix, (Serena, The Waltons), is born in Orange County.
27
1929: Midway City Post Office established.
28
1542: Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, landing in San Diego harbor, becomes the first European to
set foot in California.
1977: The Brea Mall holds its grand opening ceremonies.
29
1776: Father Junipero Serra receives permission to establish Mission San Juan Capistrano.
1986: The Orange County Performing Arts Center (now called Segerstrom Hall) formally
opens with a performance by the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
30
1963: Orange County reaches 1,000,000 in population.
31
OCTOBER
1
1901: County staff first moved into the newly completed Orange County Courthouse. The
Courthouse opens for business.
2
1905: Sunset Beach Post Office established.
3
1969: Singer Gwen Stefani of No Doubt fame is born in Fullerton.
4
1924: The Mission Pageant of San Juan Capistrano, by Garnet Holme, is staged for the first
time.
5
1947: Beulah Overell and her fiance George "Bud" Gollum were found not guilty of her
parents murder.
6
1974: Midfielder Brian Kelly of the gold-medal-winning 1996 US Olympic soccer team, is
born in Mission Viejo.
7
1890: The first Orange County Fair opened in Santa Ana.
8
1894: The Santa Fe Train Depot was completed at San Juan Capistrano.
1993: The Mighty Ducks play their debut game at The Pond in Anaheim.
9
1926: Pacific Coast Highway through Orange County dedicated at a ceremony in Laguna
Beach.
10
1869: William H. Spurgeon, who would later found Santa Ana, first rode through the area
on horseback.
11
1897: The Irvine Company gives Irvine Park to the County, establishing the first County
park.
12
1840: Famed actress Helena Modjeska is born in Cracow, Poland. She moved to Orange
County in 1876.
13
1849: State motto, "Eureka," is adopted.
14
1971: U.S. Olympic greco-roman wrestler Heath Sims is born in Orange.
15
1903: The tract map for the Town of La Habra is filed with the County of Orange.
16
1923: The Walt Disney Company is founded. It would one day play a major role in the
Orange County's identity and economy.
17
18
2010: Robert Schuller's Crystal Cathedral Ministries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
19
1940: Sheriff's Deputy Ezra Stanley is killed by a drunk driver and becomes the second O.C.
deputy to die in the line of duty.
20
1938: Trabuco Canyon Post Office established.
21
1997: The Knott family sold Knott's Berry Farm to Cedar Fair L.P. of Ohio.
22
1874: Westminster Post Office established.
1920: The Laguna Playhouse was founded.
1924: Toastmasters International is founded in Santa Ana by Ralph C. Smedley.
23
1905: San Juan Capistrano Post Office is established.
24
25
26
1912: Brea Post Office established.
27
1915: The City of Seal Beach is incorporated.
1997: A wildfire swept through Laguna Beach, leaving 232 families homeless.
2002: The Anaheim Angeles win the World Series.
28
1872: Tustin Post Office established, (known as Tustin City until 1894).
29
1870: Orange County's first newspaper, the Anaheim Gazette, begins publication.
1961: The first Leisure World retirement community opens, in Seal Beach.
1967: The Paseo Grande Fire begins in Santa Ana Canyon. It burned 48,600 acres.
30
1775: Construction begins on first attempt to build Mission San Juan Capistrano. Significant
construction was delayed until 1776.
1970: Orange County Register publisher Raymond C. Hoiles dies at age 91.
31
1889: Earliest recorded birth in the new County of Orange is Frances H. Edwards, born to
William J. & Ella Edwards of Westminster.
NOVEMBER
1
1776: Mission San Juan Capistrano founded by Father Junipero Serra.
2
1927: Cypress Post Office established.
1967: The City of Yorba Linda incorporated with a population of about 11,433.
3
1987: Mission Viejo votes to incorporate as a city. The vote passes 7,572 to 5,661.
4
1948: The week-long Green River Fire begins near what is now Featherly Park. The fire
eventually burned 46,000 acres.
5
1905: The first Pacific Electric car to enter Santa Ana is a parlour car called "El Peregrino."
6
1905: The Pacific Electric opens its line from Watts to Santa Ana.
1924: Atwood Post Office established. Atwood later became part of Anaheim.
7
1962: Orange County native Richard Nixon loses his bid to become Governor of California.
8
1988: Saddleback Valley puts incorporation to a vote, which fails 12,261 to 20,704.
9
1994: Noted Orange County historian and naturalist Don C. Meadows dies in Yuba City,
California.
10
1887: The tract map for the Town of Fairview (now part of Costa Mesa) is filed with the
County of Los Angeles.
11
1926: Spanish-American War monument is dedicated in Irvine Park.
1981: The Ainsworth Historical house is dedicated in Orange.
12
1987: The restored Old Orange County Courthouse is reopened as a museum, historical
archives, and county offices.
13
1959: LPGA golfer Rosie Jones is born in Santa Ana.
14
1901: The Pacific Electric Railway Co. is incorporated.
15
1899: Talbert Post Office is established in what is now Fountain Valley, with Thomas B.
Talbert as postmaster.
1945: The Santa Ana Army Air Base closed.
16
1859: Joseph E. Pleasants first visits what is now Irvine Park.
17
1940: The Pacific Electric discontinues its Seal Beach local line.
18
1940: The Pacific Electric discontinues its line between Newport Beach and Balboa.
19
1914: Olive Heights Citrus Association organizes and incorporates as a Sunkist packing
house.
20
21
1996: The San Joaquin Hills Toll Road (SR 73) officially opens to the public.
22
1895: Original La Habra Post Office established.
1901: Ten attorneys met in the newly completed courthouse to found the Orange County
Bar Association.
1905: Santa Ana celebrated the arrival of the Pacific Electric Red Car line with a "Parade of
Products," fireworks and a banquet.
23
1886: The Santa Ana, Orange & Tustin Street Railway Co. begins operation. This was the
Orange County's first horse-car line.
1923: The Plaza in Orange is closed to two-way traffic.
24
1929: St. Joseph Hospital opens.
25
1950: Anaheim Park Superintendent and boysenberry creator Rudolph "Rudy" Boysen dies
at age 55.
26
1962: Angels pitcher Chuck Finley is born in Monroe, Louisiana.
27
1889: California State Supreme Court rules that the bill creating Orange County is
constitutional.
28
1905: S.O. Walker files the tract map for the town of Cypress with the County of Orange.
29
30
DECEMBER
1
1934: South Laguna Post Office is established. It had previously been called the Three
Arches Post Office.
2
1926: The City of Placentia is incorporated with a population of about 800.
3
1981: Walter Knott died in Buena Park.
4
1955: Famed Santa Ana aviator Glenn L. Martin dies at his home.
5
1893: Original Placentia Post Office established.
1901: Walt Disney, film producer and founder of Disneyland, is born in Chicago, Illinois.
6
1925: The village of San Clemente founded by Ole Hanson.
1994: The County of Orange filed for bankruptcy.
7
2004: Silver Bullet roller-coaster opens at Knott's Berry Farm, replacing the Church of the
Reflections, the Original Berry Stand, Mission models, the Little Chapel By The Lake, etc.
8
1812: A major earthquake destroys the church at Mission San Juan Capistrano, killing 41.
1926: San Clemente Post Office established.
9
1967: LPGA golfer Cathy Mockett is born in Newport Beach.
10
1931: The $600,000 Santiago Dam is completed.
1941: First wartime blackout in Orange County.
1992: The Walt Disney Co. announces that it will launch a new NHL hockey team in
Anaheim, and hints that they may call it The Mighty Ducks.
11
1889: Walter Knott was born in San Bernardino.
12
1952: Famed Olympic gymnast and actress Cathy Rigby is born in Los Alamitos.
13
1968: The old Orange County Courthouse officially closes as a courthouse. The new
Courthouse was dedicated in January 1969.
14
1818: Pirate Hipolito Bouchard and his crew invade San Juan Capistrano.
15
1966: Walt Disney, film producer and founder of Disneyland, dies of cancer.
16
17
1877: The first regular train service to Santa Ana begins.
18
1886: Tract map for Modena City (now El Modena) is drawn by John T. Halsted, C.E.
19
1888: The Orange News is founded.
1929: The Seal Beach Volunteer Fire Department is organized.
20
1896: An enormous vampire bat was found and killed on the San Joaquin (Irvine) Ranch.
21
1971: Voters approve the incorporation of the City of Irvine by a 2-to-1 margin.
22
2011: Services were held for mall developer and former O.C. Democratic Party Chairman
Howard Adler (1943-2011).
23
24
25
1955: The Mike Fink Keel Boats open for business at Disneyland. The attraction closed in
1997.
26
1922: Huntington Beach City Council shuts off water to public horse troughs, except one at
the pier and one at Walnut and Main.
27
1930: Work begins on the Santiago Dam.
28
29
2006: Orange fabric for the El Toro "Great Park" balloon arrives in Orange County from
France.
30
1975: Golf champion Tiger Woods is born in Cypress, California.
31
1923: The tract map for the Mexican-American community of Colonia Independencia (near
Stanton) is filed.
