If you have lived in Orange County long enough, you might remember driving by rows and rows of orange trees. I remember them, and even liked them, but I didn’t fully appreciate them back then [I do now]. My kids have no idea they even existed – nor have they yet asked how Orange County got it’s name. In case you are curious, it wasn’t actually because of those rows of orange trees, but because, in an attempt “to encourage immigration, the area was ‘boomed’ by real estate promoters as a semi-topical paradise – a place where anything could grow, and nearly everything was tried. The name orange has a Mediterranean flavor about it, so for that reason it was selected to suggest our climate.” [How Orange County Got Its Name by Jim Sleeper, delivered March 11, 1974 in an address to the Superior Court on occasion of the county’s 85th anniversary]
Interesting right? And there is so much more to learn. This Saturday, June 8th from 11am to 4pm, The Orange County Historical Society and the Heritage Museum of Orange County are hosting a special OC History Roundup complete with:
- A chance to interact with costumed interpreters, reenactors, historical societies, and genealogical societies
- Tours of the H. Clay Kellogg House
- Orange County History Talks
- Storyteller Corners (hear about OC history in their own words)
- Live music, presented by Lilies of the West string band
- Open House at the OCHS Archives
- Artist on the Go, silhouette artist Leslie Stone
- Nature Tours by Orange County naturalists
- Food Trucks
- Fruit and vegetables from the Museum’s Farm
This event is FREE and is a part of the Centennial Celebration of the Orange County Historical Society.
Heritage Museum of Orange County • 3101 W. Harvard • Santa Ana • 92704