Category: city history

Mission Viejo: Orange County’s Final Frontier

Known for its tree-lined streets and Spanish mission-style architecture, the city of Mission Viejo—located in the Saddleback Valley east of Laguna Beach—is the largest master-planned neighborhood in California. Though Mission Viejo can trace its origins back to the 19th century, it is relatively young, becoming incorporated just 34 years ago. The delay of cityhood, historians…


Bite-Sized History of Costa Mesa: From Farming Village to ‘City of the Arts’

Costa Mesa—a vibrant city of 69 years with a population of 111,000 in 2021, according to census data—grew from a small Spanish settlement into the hub of arts and culture in Orange County. The region’s first inhabitants were a Native American tribe called the Yukup who settled along the banks of the Santa Ana River,…


Laguna Niguel: One of Orange County’s Newest Cities

With its lush green landscape and crisp ocean breeze rolling off the smooth hills, Laguna Niguel serves as a photogenic example of idyllic Orange County weather and living. Having only been certified as a city in 1989, Laguna Niguel has held a unique place nestled in the region since its settling hundreds of years prior…