Brief History of Orange
Native Americans, called Gabrieliños by the
Spaniards, were the first inhabitants of
Orange. The first landholder was Don Juan
Pablo Grijalva, a retired Spanish soldier who
built an adobe ranch house around 1801. Upon
his death, his grandsons Antonio Yorba and
Juan Pablo Peralta inherited the land and in
1810 were officially granted the ranch by the
King of Spain. In 1868, Alfred B. Chapman and
Andrew Glassell were hired by the Yorba and
Peralta families to handle an inheritance
dispute and were given land as payment.
City of
range
Santiago Orange Growers Association
Packing House, 1948
Facts and Brief History
Books & Websites
Historic Photos
City Officials
By 1870, Chapman and Glassell owned about
5,400 acres and hired a surveyor to divide the
land into tracts. Andrew’s brother, William T.
Glassell, was hired as land agent, and he laid
out the downtown area. He set aside land in
the center of town for a plaza and supervised
construction of a canal for water.
Orange began as a farming community.
Grapes were a major crop until the 1886 blight
destroyed most of the grapevines. In 1873,
farmers started growing oranges and other
produce, which made the city
prosperous again.
Orange was incorporated as a city on April 6,
1888. At that time, the city was 3.1 square miles
and had a population of 866. Orange is now
34.9 square miles and home to 138,640 people.
The Orange Public Library was founded in 1885,
making it one of the oldest libraries in Orange
County.
City Seal
Orange Public Library Children’s Services
Orange Public Library & History Center
407 E. Chapman Ave., Orange CA 92866
(714) 288 - 2420
Taft Branch Library
740 E. Taft Ave., Orange CA 92865
(714) 288 - 2436
El Modena Branch Library
380 S. Hewes St., Orange, CA 92869
(714) 288 - 2454
www.cityoforange.org/library
03/17
The Plaza, Orange CA ca. 1910
Homework Helper
Using Our Library Catalog
1. In the Search for box, type in Orange Calif. history.
2. Click on Subject. Wait for the search results to
come up on the screen. Use the scroll bar to move
to a title you are interested in.
3. Click on any book title (the blue links) to see
whether the item is available at this library.
4. Click on Go Back to see another item from the
results list. Items that have Dewey Decimal
numbers with a J are located in the Children’s
aisles.
Books in the Children’s Section
J 979.496 BRI A New Creation: The Incorporation
of the City of Orange, 1888
(also available in the adult section)
J 979.496 CLA Pioneer Ranch Life in Orange : a
Victorian Woman in Southern California
(also available in the adult section)
J 979.496 EVA A Brief History of the Orange
Unified School District Communities,
Orange, California
(also available in the adult section)
Books in the Adult Section
Map of Orange, CA
Incorporated:
April 6, 1888
Population:
138,640
366.1 ONE One Hundred Years in Retrospect,
1888-1988: Orange Grove Lodge No. 293
Land area:
27 square miles
Latitude:
33° 47’ 16”
979.496 BRI A Brief History of Orange, California :
the Plaza City
Longitude:
117° 51’ 00”
Elevation:
195 ft.
City Motto:
“Orange...a Slice of Old Town Charm”
City Tree:
Orange
City Flower:
Rose
979.496 BRI Orange: The City ‘Round the Plaza
Orange Civic Center, 1981
Reminder:
You may only check out 3 books
about the City of Orange.
Facts About the City of Orange
City Officials
Websites
Mayor: Teresa “Tita” Smith
City of Orange, CA
http://www.cityoforange.org
Mayor pro tem: Mark Murphy
Orange Chamber of Commerce
http://www.orangechamber.org
Councilmember: Fred Whitaker
Orange Public Library Local History Collection
http://www.cityoforange.org/localhistory
Orange Unified School District
http://www.orangeusd.k12.ca.us
Orange Public Library , ca. 1910
Councilmember: Michael Alvarez
Councilmember: Kim Nichols