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"The colorful pageantry of human history in Orange County began at some undetermined point in the distant past when Shoshone Indians came to dwell along the coast and in the lower canyons of the mountains. Theirs was a simple form of existence: they lived off of the abundance of the land.
In 1769, Gaspar de Portola, a military man and Spanish aristocrat, was appointed governor of Lower California. He commanded an expedition traveling northward into the literally unmapped and half mythical territory of Alta California. His assignment was to seek out the legendary Bay of Monterey. He was also to secure the Spanish claim to his vast frontier against any invasion from Russian trappers or British colonizers. Portola called upon Father Junipero Serra, president of the Mexico City Missionary College, to assist in this monumental undertaking.
It was late in July in 1769 when this first party of European explorers reached the boundaries of present-day Orange County. Members of the expedition named the region 'The Valley of Saint Anne' (Santa Ana). It was to this valley that Father Serra returned six years later, where he proceeded with the work of establishing the Church and converting the local people.
While the East Coast of North America was engaged in revolution and spectacular change, the West Coast too was undergoing a quiet and almost undetected transformation. Father Serra dedicated the Mission of San Juan Capistrano, Orange County's first permanent settlement, on November 1, 1776. The Mission became a self-sustaining unit based upon an agricultural economy. Its chapel and adjoining structure were the first signs of civilization erected upon the fertile, virgin soil of the Santa Ana Region....
In 1955, Walt Disney opened his Magic Kingdom in Anaheim. Noted as the pioneer of animated films, Disney revolutionized the entertainment world again with his 'theme park' recreation concept.
By 1960, the neighboring metropolis of Los Angeles was 'bursting at the seams.' As the population spilled over the county line and across the rural Santa Ana Valley, it left in its wake an urban landscape of homes, shopping malls, and industrial parks.
Today Orange County is the home of a vast number of major industries and service organizations. As an integral part of the second largest market in America, this highly diversified region has become a Mecca for talented individuals in virtually every field imaginable. Indeed the colorful pageant of human history continues to unfold here; for perhaps in no other place on earth is there an environment more conducive to innovative thinking, creativity and growth than this balmy, sun bathed valley stretching between the mountains and the sea in Orange County."
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Click for a bird's eye view of The County of Orange, California OC location!
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Santa Ana (Orange County Hall of Administration)
Orange County, California
click for this location's web page
10 Civic Center Plaza
Santa Ana, CA 92701-4017
(714) 834-5400
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