The County of Orange was established in 1889 by founders William Spurgeon and James McFadden. The City of Santa Ana became the county seat the same year. Prior to its formation, the Orange County lands were part of Los Angeles County.
Further back in history, California lands were organized into Spanish land grants or "Ranchos". In the case of Orange County, there is record of José Antonio Yorba and Juan Pablo Peralta (nephew) being granted Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana in 1810, year of the commencement of the war of Mexican Independence. Santiago de Santa Ana is recorded as the only Orange County land grant given under Spanish Rule.
Other surrounding land grants in Orange County were granted and recorded after 1821, that is, after the war of Mexican Independence and by the Mexican government. Some modern day cities in Orange County retain the names of the Mexican land grants as agreed upon in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
Santa Ana is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, California, United States. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census. As of 2023, Santa Ana is the third most populous city in Orange County, the 14th-most populous city in California, and the 65th most populous city in the United States. Santa Ana is a major regional economic and cultural hub for the Orange Coast.
The Santa Ana River is the largest river entirely within Southern California in the United States. It rises in the San Bernardino Mountains and flows for most of its length through San Bernardino and Riverside counties, before cutting through the northern Santa Ana Mountains via Santa Ana Canyon and flowing southwest through urban Orange County to drain into the Pacific Ocean. The Santa Ana River is 96 miles (154 km) long, and its drainage basin is 2,650 square miles (6,900 km2) in size.
Olive is an unincorporated parcel of about 32.67 acres (132,200 m2) entirely surrounded by the city of Orange, located along Lincoln Avenue, between Eisenhower Park and Orange Olive Road.
José Antonio Yorba, also known as Don José Antonio Yorba I, was a Spanish Californio soldier and an early settler of Spanish California.
The Diego Sepúlveda Adobe, sometimes called the Costa Mesa Estancia or the Santa Ana Estancia, is an adobe structure in Costa Mesa, Orange County, California. It is the second-oldest building still standing in the county.
In Alta California and Baja California, ranchos were concessions and land grants made by the Spanish and Mexican governments from 1775 to 1846. The Spanish Concessions of land were made to retired soldiers as an inducement for them to settle in the frontier. These Concessions reverted to the Spanish crown upon the death of the recipient.
Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana was a 63,414-acre (256.63 km2) Spanish land concession in present-day Orange County, California, given by Spanish Alta California Governor José Joaquín de Arrillaga in 1810 to Jose Antonio Yorba and his nephew Pablo Peralta. The grant extended eastward from the Santa Ana River to the Santa Ana Mountains, with a length of more than 22 miles (35 km).
Rancho San Juan Cajón de Santa Ana was a 35,971-acre (145.57 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day Orange County, California.
Rancho Cañón de Santa Ana was a 13,328-acre (53.94 km2) land grant in present-day Orange County, California given by Mexican governor José Figueroa in 1834 to Bernardo Yorba. The name means "Canyon of Santa Ana". The grant included present-day Yorba Linda.
Bernardo Yorba was a prominent Californio landowner, ranchero, politician, and public figure. He was one of the wealthiest men in early 19th-century California. Yorba also served as alcalde (mayor) of Santa Ana. The city of Yorba Linda is named after him.
Santiago Creek is a major watercourse in Orange County in the U.S. state of California. About 34 miles (55 km) long, it drains most of the northern Santa Ana Mountains and is a tributary to the Santa Ana River. It is one of the longest watercourses entirely within the county. The creek shares its name with Santiago Peak, at 5,687 ft (1,733 m) the highest point in Orange County, on whose slopes its headwaters rise.
Rancho Santa Ana del Chino was a 22,193-acre (89.81 km2) Mexican land grant in the Chino Hills and southwestern Pomona Valley, in present-day San Bernardino County, California.
The Ávila family was a prominent Californio family of Spanish origins from Southern California, founded by Cornelio Ávila in the 1780s. Numerous members of the family held important rancho grants and political positions, including two Alcaldes of Los Angeles.
Rancho La Sierra was a 17,769-acre (71.91 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day Riverside County, California, United States. In 1846 governor Pio Pico issued the grant to Bernardo Yorba. The grant lay between Rancho Jurupa and Rancho El Rincon, and included the present-day city of Corona.
Rancho La Sierra was a 17,774-acre (71.93 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day Riverside County, California, United States. In 1846 Governor Pio Pico issued the grant to Vicenta Sepulveda. The rancho includes the present-day city of Norco, and the western end of Riverside.
Rancho Rincón de la Brea was a 4,452-acre (18.02 km2) Mexican land grant in present day Los Angeles County, California given in 1841 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Gil Maria Ybarra. The name means "Tar Gully Ranch" in Spanish. The one square league grant extended southward from San Jose Creek into the hills of Brea Canyon. Known as "Rancho la Canada de la Brea" when application for the grant was originally made in 1841, it was subsequently referred to as "Rancho Rincon de la Brea" and "Rancho de los Ybarras". The rancho was situated in present day unincorporated Los Angeles County: east of Rowland Heights, south of La Puente, west of Diamond Bar, and north of Brea.
Santiago Argüello (1791–1862) was a Californio, a soldier in the Spanish army of the Viceroyalty of New Spain in Las Californias, a major Mexican land grant ranchos owner, and part of an influential family in Mexican Alta California and post-statehood California.
Narciso Botello was a chief of staff for Mexican General Joaquín Ramírez y Sesma before the Mexican–American War and was the first Southern California member of the California State Assembly after California organized its legislature.
The Sepúlveda family is a prominent Californio family of Southern California. Members of the family held extensive rancho grants and numerous important positions, including Alcalde de Los Ángeles, California State Assemblymen, and Los Angeles County Supervisor.