Vintage Orange Wednesday, October 12 2016
The goal of Vintage Orange is to connect the dots between Orange county's past and its present. Hopefully, this will encourage you to get out and explore the history that's right in your own backyard.
This week, I share some of my favorite spots to explore local history in North Orange County.
Listen to the Podcast Here.
Fullerton The Fender Exhibit at The Fullerton Museum
Leo Fender was a tinkerer, a guy who liked to take things apart, figure out how they worked, and then put them back together in a new and improved way. When traveling musicians came into his workshop and asked if he could help them improve the performance of their guitars, he not only solved their problems, he revolutionized the music industry by creating the first, mass-produced, solid-body guitar. The man who changed the sound of popular music never even played the guitar.
The Fullerton Museum tells the story of Leo Fender, the local boy who ended up in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
301 N. Pomona Ave.
Fullerton, CA 92834
Open on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday
noon to 4:00 pm
Thursday
noon to 8:00 pm
Closed Mondays.
Santa Ana Fairhaven Memorial Park
Fairhaven Memorial Park was created in 1911 by Oliver Linden Halsell. Oliver developed the park for the living, where families could come and visit their loved ones in a peaceful, park-like setting. So he created Fairhaven as a Memorial Park rather than a cemetery. Memorial Parks are distinguished by flat markers instead of upright tombstones so that the visitors feel as if they are in the quiet solitude of a park. Many of Orange County's prominent pioneers are buried there, including Leo Fender.
Docents will guide visitors through scenes that showcase the history of education in the County, culminating in a presentation in Fairhaven's beautiful 1916 mausoleum. Small groups, a lovely outdoor setting, and close access to the actors make the tour an entertaining outing for the whole family.
The walking tour lasts about an hour-and-a-half long and is presented by the Santa Ana Historical Preservation Society.
Hours are from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Fairhaven Memorial Park,
1702 Fairhaven Ave., Santa Ana.
Tickets are $22 for adults, $18 for seniors and Members, and $16 for students and children 10 and over. (Children 9 and under are free.)
Orange Old Towne Orange - Plaza Circle
The land that is now Orange was once part of the Rancho Santa Ana land grant owned by the Yorba family. In the mid 1860's, the Yorba's need help navigating the new U.S. court system so they hired two lawyers who specialized in property law. For their services, Andrew Glassell and Alfred Beck Chapman took land for partial payment.
Glassell and Chapman saved 18 lots within their surveyed tract to create a town center and named the place Richland. The name was eventually changed to Orange and the city was incorporated on April 6, 1888.
Today Orange is a lovely, quaint example of Orange County's early days. The town center is the Plaza Circle and its signature fountain. It's a great place to browse antique stores, enjoy good food, and sample craft beers, all within am historic setting.
The Orange Community Historical Society offers Historical Walking Tours of the Plaza District and surrounding areas of Old Towne Orange. Volunteer Docents share the story of Orange’s founding and the significance of some of its early residences, businesses, development, and downtown buildings.
Old Towne Walking Food Tours lets you stroll around the Plaza District and learn about its history as you sample foods from restaurants as you pass by.
Garden Grove Stanley Ranch Museum
In 1874, a farmer named Alonzo Cook purchased 160 acres of land in the area for about $15 an acre. He later donated land for use as the site of the first schoolhouse and post office. Cook named the new little town "Garden Grove" Some countered that the name did not fit the flat, wide-open terrain. Cook responded, "We'll make it appropriate by planting trees and making it beautiful."
You can get a taste of Alonzo Cook's little town at the the two acre property now known as the
Stanley Ranch Museum where some of Garden Grove's oldest homes and business buildings have been moved to this location.
The Ware-Stanley House, completed in 1892, is the focus home at the museum. Also included at the site are homes dating from the late 1800's to the early 1900's. Garden Grove's first post office, opened in 1877; the Electric Shoe Shop/Barber Shop; and Garden Grove's #1 fire engine, a 1926 American La France, are part of the exhibits. One of the most popular attractions is the Walt Disney Studio Garage, the modest shack where Disney first experimented with animation. It was relocated to the former ranch site in the 1980's.
12174 Euclid St, Garden Grove, CA 92840
Open Monday - Thursday; 7:30am - 5:30pm
Anaheim Founders Park - Mother Colony House
Many people think life in Anaheim started in 1953, when the gates to Disneyland opened for the first time. But Orange County's most well-known city is also its oldest.
In 1857, a group of fifty German colonists, called the Vineyard Society, wanted to establish a town where they could grow grapes. They hired a Los Angeles surveyor, George Hansen, to find the land and create the townsite. Today, Hansen's early home and office still stands at
Founder's Park and is known as The Mother Colony House, one of the first buildings constructed in Anaheim.
Dedicated on March 14, 1929, the Mother Colony House is the oldest museum in Orange County.
Next door to the
Woelke-Stoffel House is a two-story Queen Anne built in 1894 during Anaheim's citrus era. You can also enjoy the shade from the massive heritage
Moreton Bay Fig tree which was the inspiration for Walt Disney's Swiss Family Robinson Tree House attraction.
400 North West Street
Anaheim, CA 92805
