 |
| El Camino Real by Alexander Harmer, from Fr. Zephyrin Engelhardt's 1922 book, Mission San Juan Capistrano. |
In 1769, the Portola Expedition blazed a north-south route through Alta California, often following existing deer and Indian trails that were undoubtedly centuries old. Parts of this route later became portions of the El Camino Real – the primary road up and down Alta California.
 |
| Map (detail) of Camino Real, by Lt. Cave J. Couts, 1850 (Engelhardt, 1922) |
The road connected all twenty-one of the Spanish missions, from Mission San Diego de Alcalá in the south to Mission San Francisco Solano in the north, as well as four presidios and three pueblos. It was officially called El Camino Real (The Royal Road) because, like all of California, it belonged to the King of Spain.
But Eric Plunkett, an expert on early California, says he's encountered very few contemporary Spanish sources actually referring to the road as Camino Real. "Instead," he says, "they colloquially referred to 'el camino.' Usually, I see them say things like, 'el camino en el rumbo de San Gabriel,' [on the road in the direction of San Gabriel]."
El Camino Real developed along the natural route of travel or, to put it another way, the path of least resistance. Portola had discovered some of that route, and the rest was identified in the coming decades through the trial and error of many travelers.
 |
| El Camino Real passes in front of the ruins of Mission San Juan Capistrano, circa 1880. |
Ultimately, most of El Camino Real was made up of routes that had been traveled for centuries by the native peoples of California. Europeans didn’t plan or design the road so much as rediscover it and make adjustments for their own purposes. (And despite what your fourth-grade teacher told you, no, the padres did NOT sprinkle mustard seeds along the road to mark the way!)
In many places there were multiple somewhat parallel routes that could claim the name El Camino Real. In Orange County, for instance, the road ran through the flatlands of today’s Irvine and Lake Forest during the dry season, but a second “wet season” route in the foothills above Irvine avoided the Cienega de las Ranas (Swamp of the Frogs).
 |
| El Camino Real at night by Langdon Smith, from Mrs. A.S.C. Forbes' 1909 book, Mission Tales in the Days of the Dons. |
Friars, Indians, soldiers, and ox-drawn carretas full of trade goods shared the dusty road. Landmarks like Red Hill (near Tustin) kept wayfarers generally on course. And even at night, the sound of the frogs in the Cienega de las Ranas let travelers orient themselves.
During the 1800s, El Camino Real’s path(s) changed little through Orange County. But everything around the road changed. Spanish rule gave way to Mexican rule and then American rule. Those selecting sites for towns like Santa Ana took proximity to the road into consideration. Travelers on foot and horseback were joined by stagecoaches. And when the telegraph lines and railroads arrived, they followed alongside El Camino Real as well. The railroad, in turn, encouraged additional new communities, like El Toro and Irvine, to plant themselves along the route.
 |
| Stagecoach in Tustin, circa 1890. |
The birth of the automobile era, in the early 1900s, brought an emphasis on improved roads. In keeping with this spirit, a statewide movement was launched to "re-establish" El Camino Real and place pole-mounted bells along the roadside. At the heart of the movement was preservationist and author Mrs. A. S. C. Forbes of Pasadena who ultimately designed and manufactured the bells.
In November 12, 1906, the Orange County Board of Supervisors approved a route (made up of extant public roads) for the “re-established” El Camino Real through Orange County, as proposed by local community leaders. While traversing the county at an angle similar to the original, the new Camino zig-zagged to incorporate the central business district of each town. Rather than just honoring history, the new route was a tool to encourage visitors and commerce. (Traffic was considered a good thing back then.)
 |
| The gerrymandered "El Camino Real" through Orange County. Detail from a 1915 Auto Club map. |
The Supervisors identified the route as a strip of land on certain public highways “commencing at the quarter section corner on the west line of section 6, township 3 south, range 10 west, S.B.B.& M. [entering the county on Whittier Blvd in La Habra]; Thence east one half mile; Thence south one half mile [entering downtown La Habra]; Thence east two miles; Thence southerly along county road and Spadra St. [Harbor Blvd] in the City of Fullerton to its intersection with Los Angeles St. [Anaheim Blvd, at the heart of downtown] in the City of Anaheim, extended;…
 |
| Dedication of Anaheim's first ECR bell, 2-5-1911. Presented to the city by Mrs. A. Koenig. |
“…Thence southerly along Los Angeles street and Santa Ana and Anaheim County road [essentially today’s I-5 or the old Manchester Ave] to its intersection with Chapman street in the City of Orange, extended; Thence east on Chapman street to its intersection with Main street in the City of Santa Ana, extended; Thence south to the corner of Main and First Sts in the City of Santa Ana; thence east to corner of First and D Streets in Tustin; Thence south to Laguna Ave [Newport Ave in Tustin]; Thence along Laguna Ave to Irvine Station; Thence along Santa Ana and San Diego county road [essentially today’s I-5 Freeway] through San Juan Capistrano to the Orange and San Diego county line.”
 |
| Laguna Road with El Camino Real bell, Tustin, September 1919 |
Cities, organizations and individuals all along the route ordered “El Camino Real bells.” The statewide program specified that a bell be placed at every turn in the highway, but anyone could add bells anywhere else along the route. (The first in Orange County was placed in Fullerton by realtor P.A. Schumacher in 1906.) In 1916, County government helped fill in the gaps by purchasing ten more bells to be placed along the highway in unincorporated areas.
The new Camino Real became simply “the State Highway.” In the 1920s, it became part of U.S. Route 101 and was straightened out, which coincidentally returned it to essentially the original main Camino Real route. (Still the natural route of travel.) Traffic on the improved 101 provided the County with a steady source of income: speeding tickets. Gin joints, nightclubs, motels, gas stations and skating rinks sprang up along the roadside. So did the old county fairgrounds and the community of Freeway Park (at La Palma Ave.).
 |
| Mrs. A. S. C. Forbes with an ERC bell in Woodland Hills area |
Most of this was wiped away in the 1950s when the new I-5 Freeway was built atop Route 101 through this region. In places, bits of the old 101 – like Manchester Ave. in Anaheim – still exist as frontage streets. In a few spots – like Coast Highway in Capistrano Beach – the new and old roads parallel each other but stand as much as a mile apart. But for all intents and purposes, the I-5, as it spans our county, is El Camino Real. And it’s still our main drag.
 |
| A 1906 El Camino Real postcard from Fullerton |
