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"People who know this area well sometimes refer to Tustin as 'The City of the Trees.' Although a variety of trees are responsible for this nickname, this is a distinctive quality of the area which dates back centuries, actually to the time of the early Spanish explorers. The first Europeans in Orange County came with the Portola Expedition in 1769. This expedition, which had two padres (including Father Juan Crespi) and a small contingent of the army, set out north to establish the string of missions throughout California. (Father Serra, who was in charge of this project, was not along on this expedition, remaining in San Diego to establish the mission there.) A few years later, the early Spanish Grijalva scouting party (The Anza Expedition, 1776) identified the area from Santiago Creek to Red Hill as El Alisal, the Sycamore Grove. At that time, the land was dotted with massive, white-barked sycamore trees. It is of some note that three of the massive trees still exist, although today they are on private property....
Columbus Tustin, a Northern California carriage maker, and his partner Nelson Stafford, purchased 1,300 acres of what had been the Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana for the price of one dollar and fifty cents per acre. Mr. Tustin attempted to create 'Tustin City', but sales of homesites were slow, and in the early 1870s he ended up giving free lots to anyone who would build a home.
In 1877, Tustin lost out to Santa Ana as the Southern terminus of the Southern Pacific Railroad, and Columbus Tustin died in 1883, a bitterly disappointed man. Nonetheless, with the abundance of water, the community named after him gradually became established as an agricultural center....
Today, almost all the orchards are gone; now Tustin is an urban area. However, if you know where to look, you can still see signs of the City's proud history. Historic old buildings, some dating back to the 1880s, are maintained in 'Old Town' on Main Street and El Camino Real. The museum shows a living history of those times gone by. And there's more: three trees yet remain of those original massive sycamores. And finally, everywhere lining the streets, one still sees trees, trees and more trees in Tustin, The City of Trees."
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Click for a bird's eye view of The City of Tustin, California OC location!
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Tustin (Tustin City Hall)
Tustin, California
300 Centennial Way
Tustin, CA 92780-3715
(714) 573-3000
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