Happy O.C. History Halloween!

Excelsior Creamery float in Anaheim Halloween Parade, circa 1950s (Photo courtesy O.C. Archives)

While goblins and gremlins aren't real, the stories we tell each other about "things that go bump in the night" are a very real part of our cultural history. So too are the many ways we've celebrated Halloween over the years. In that spirit, here are links to some of my past Halloween-themed or otherwise spooky/weird posts. Enjoy!: 

•  The Pink Lady of Yorba Cemetery
• Count Ostoja Rises from His Grave
• O.C. Halloween Q&A
• Buena Park's Mystery Monster
• 1880s-1890s Halloween: All tricks and no treats
• An Old Courthouse Ghost Story
• Delhi's Haunted House
• Halloween in the Santa Ana Register, 1910-1920
• Knott's first Halloween Haunt, 1973
• Halloween in Santa Ana, 1894
• Harry Houdini in Santa Ana?
• Sputnik comes to Laguna Beach for Halloween
• Waltsicle: The History of a Myth

Count Ostoja Rises from his Grave

Count Ostoja with skewers through his tongue and palm

“1926 – Burial of Polish mystic and chicken mesmerizer Count R. Ostoja, sponsored by Santa Ana Junior Chamber of Commerce. Time and place to be announced. The Count is not dead – yet.”   

-Jim Sleeper. “Curious County Calendar of Weird Events,” Jim Sleeper’s Orange County Almanac of Historical Oddities (3rd edition)

If that blurb isn’t Uncle Jim challenging us to (ahem) dig up the rest of the story, I don’t know what is. 

And what a challenge! Almost everything ever printed about Mieszko Roman Maszerek Maszerski (a.k.a. Count Roman Ostoja) requires an asterisk and a large grain of salt. But here’s the story as best as I can currently determine it,...

Mieszko Roman Maszerek Maszerski was born on August 16, 1887 – supposedly in Lodz, Poland. He later claimed that in his youth he discovered his ability to read minds. He also professed to having earned a medical degree and studying psychology. 

Rabbits and chickens don't mezmerize themselves, you know.

According to a 1958 UPI article for which Maszerski/Ostoja was interviewed, he was the "son of a famous Polish general. His father had been executed in the first World War, and his mother had given him money and sent him to India. There he found a guru who took him into the Himalayas and taught him the ancient yogi secrets. ...He came to [the U.S.] at the invitation of . . . Dr. William McDougall, then a Harvard University psychologist, to lecture on auto-suggestion, hypnosis and telepathy."

Among other things, McDougall studied psychic powers, was a proponent of animism and eugenics, and was instrumental in making parapsychology a discipline in U.S. universities.

Maszerski/Ostoja first arrived in the United States in or around 1923. After his time with McDougall was done, he settled briefly in Cleveland, Ohio. He then returned to Poland for a short time and perfected the schtick that would be his bread and butter from then on. He toured Europe and demonstrated his supposed mystical abilities before audiences.

The old Mount Washington Hotel became the Self-Realization Fellowship headquarters

He officially immigrated to the U.S. in 1925 and took his act on the road, travelling throughout the country. This time he settled in Los Angeles where he studied with Swami Paramahansa Yogananda, who was a Hindu monk, a yogi (teacher), the "Father of Yoga in the West," and the founder of the Self-Realization Fellowship. 

Somewhere along the way, Maszerski began claiming he was a Polish nobleman and calling himself Count Roman Miesko Ostoja Maszerski, which was often shortened to “Count Roman Ostoja.” He would later make Roman Ostoja his legal name. 

The Clan Ostoja were powerful knights and lords in medieval Eastern Europe and continued to maintain some of their aristocratic clout into the 20th Century. So, like the title of “Count,” the surname Ostoja further underscored his assumed noble roots. That said, he occasionally skipped the nobility routine and used the stage name “Notre Damus” – an attempt to take on the mystic mantle of the 14th Century French seer “Nostradamus.” Never pitched as entertainment, but more like an educational Chautauqua program, Ostoja’s “show” primarily toured the West Coast. Although not a large man, this muscular, dark-eyed, and exotically-accented purveyor of woo-woo had an impressive stage presence.

The site of Ostoja's 1926 Santa Ana burial would become the site of the Santora Building (1929)

At 1:31 p.m. on October 11, 1926, at an event sponsored by the Santa Ana Junior Chamber of Commerce, Ostoja "cast himself into a catacleptic trance" and was buried about six feet deep in a wooden coffin (loaned by Winbigler's Mission funeral home) in a vacant lot on the northeast corner of 2nd Street and Broadway. (Ground would be broken on that lot for the Santora Building in 1928.) A crowd of several thousand gathered to watch the proceedings. A team of Santa Ana's best-known physicians, including Dr. C.D. Ball and R. A. Cushman, were on hand to observe the entire process. Ostoja was disinterred two hours later with only a racing pulse (176 beats per minute) to show for his ordeal. If anyone figured out the trick, they were good enough sports not to announce it to the media.

 Ostoja then described the sensation of being "dead" to the audience. He then stuck pins through his cheeks, supposedly using his force of will and powers of concentration to keep himself from bleeding. He claimed he could locate hidden articles while in a hypnotic state. He also offered to tell the directors of the Jaycees the dates they would each die, but everyone passed on the offer. 

Ostoja followed up his public feats by appearing that night at the Junior Chamber's regular meeting at Ketner's Cafe and by putting on a performance the following week at the West Coast-Walker Theater.

Ad from the Santa Ana Register, Oct. 15, 1926

A December 1953 article about Ostoja in the sensational Fate Magazine (a pulp dedicated to the paranormal), entitled “Man of Miracles,” described and exaggerated Ostoja’s buried alive trick, claiming that he’d remain buried for multiple days “to prove that man can survive for long periods of time in a state of suspended animation without air, food or water.” 

Actually, the period he remained buried (assuming he actually was) was usually more like three hours. 

According to Fate, Ostoja would always begin by going into a hypnotic state, where “During the process he turned his tongue backward and swallowed it, so as to allow no air to enter and leave is lungs.” Supposedly, physicians would then verify that he had no pulse.

Ostoja about to be placed in his "grave" by local businessmen

Apparently, in later years, Leo Tolstoy and his wife Sophia witnessed one of these demonstrations, but after an hour Sophia insisted they dig Ostoja up. Sure enough, he was about to suffocate. 

Hobnobbing with celebrities became a habit for Ostoja, beginning with famous muckraker Upton Sinclair.

By 1928, he was hanging around with Sinclair so often that the author called Ostoja "practically a member of our family." Ostoja even appeared as the character Jan in Mental Radio, Sinclair’s book about his wife’s Mary’s experiments in telepathy. This notoriety put him on the radar of even more notable personalities, including Tolstoy.

Ostoja with Tolstoy. (Oy, such a headache!)

Ostoja returned to Orange County in March 1928, possibly stumping for his new book, Mind Made Visible, published and with a foreword by Mary Sinclair. While here, he gave two demonstrations of his uncanny abilities at the Santa Ana Ebell Clubhouse. 

"Ancient teachings of the Hindu masters demonstrated," claimed a 1928 newspaper ad. "The science of mental healing and bodily control fully explained. The sick are invited to come and be relieved."

Most of the program time was taken up with a lecture about his psychological theories. But a film of his earlier 1926 Santa Ana "buried alive" stunt was shown. Then he eventually got around to mind reading and faith healing. He followed it up by mesmerizing a chicken and a rabbit, and by lying on a bed of nails while a 230-pount man stood on his chest. It was not high-water mark for the otherwise education-focused Ebell Club.

Santa Ana Valley Ebell Club, Santa Ana, circa 1930s

In any case, with his growing number of celebrity friends and contacts, Ostoja had bigger plans than staying on the (mesmerized) rubber chicken circuit forever. He would peddle his hokum to more influential folks than the Jaycees and Ebell Clubs.  

In 1931, Albert Einstein was in Los Angeles to visit the Mount Wilson Observatory and the Sinclairs talked him and several other prominent scientists into attending a séance conducted by Ostoja. Other invitees included Richard Tolman, who would soon become chief scientific adviser to the Manhattan Project; and Caltech professor of theoretical physics Paul Epstein. Sinclair hoped to convince these skeptical men of science of his open-minded brand of spiritualism.

The Fate Magazine article described the demonstration, stating that “a chair rose to the ceiling, books flew out of a bookcase, and some of the participants had their faces slapped and their hair pulled.”

Part of a booklet promoting "Mind Made Visible" programs

According to George Pendle – author the biography of rocket scientist John Parsons, Strange Angel – the event actually went quite differently. 

“Ostoja went into a cataleptic trance and began mumbling incomprehensible words,” wrote Pendle, telling the tale as it was recalled by Einstein’s secretary, Helen Dukas. “Each of the guests was invited to ask him questions. Silence fell, the table shook, and then . . . nothing happened. Sinclair was distraught. He grumbled about non-believers being present at the table.”

By 1934 Ostoja was on the road with his show as "Dr. Yogi Roman Ostoja, Ph. D.," which was sponsored by Swami Yogananda. At the time, Ostoja was said to oversee the Healing Department at the Swami’s Self Realization Fellowship. He continued to tour the West Coast throughout the 1930s and 1940s. 

In December 1935, Ostoja married Anna Melnik in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

Roman Ostoja

By 1936 Ostoja had given himself another promotion and was introducing himself as the "Rev. Dr. Roman Ostoja, Great Western Master of the Ordeal of the Orient,” and “the only white Yogi in America.” Americans’ fascination with and reverence for European counts, dukes and dauphins had faded. But being a “doctor” in the age of science was a boon to his credibility.

He settled in Hollywood in the late 1930s, filed for divorce from Anna in December 1938, and became a naturalized citizen on April 28, 1939 at which point he officially changed his legal name from Mieszko Roman Maszerek Maszerski to Roman Ostoja.

Around the same time, he founded the Institute of Infinite Science, Inc., located at 2414 W. 7th Street in Hollywood. He described Infinite Science as "the quintessence of all science, scripture, philosophy, psychology and religion."

Cover of 1940s promotional pamphlet

He offered a variety of nonmedical healing at the Institute and became well-known for curing all manner of ailments. He primarily presented himself as a Westernized yogi, combining the teachings of the East with the new Western psychology, thus providing a form of Hinduism more palatable to modern Westerners. He shared his healing techniques with students as an integral part of his spiritual and metaphysical teachings.

The teachings of Ostoja combined the yoga teachings of Yogananda with New Thought metaphysics. The object was, he said, to produce through concentration and will power, “both self-mastery and the identity of the deepest level of the self with the Infinite One, Mind, Self of All, God.” 

According to the Encyclopedia of American Religions, Ostoja “taught the yoga disciplines, especially pranayama (breathing) for the development of the will and the use of suggestion and autosuggestion as a means of projecting ideas into the mind. Once in the mind, ideas could be a force for good, such as controlling the body in the cure and prevention of disease.”

Ads in the Los Angeles Times, Oct. 25, 1947

In mid-January 1946, Ostoja made the news when Miss Louise Hunt, his part-time secretary at the Institute (or “Infinite Science cult” as the Los Angeles Times called it), asked him to “make her into a jungle woman” so that she would live in the wild. Apparently, Ostoja was trying to dissuade Hunt when she pulled out a .25-caliber pistol and shot herself in the head. She went to the hospital in critical condition. Although it’s unclear if Hunt survived, her home was being advertised as vacant and for rent just a couple weeks later. Ostoja was not charged with any wrongdoing.

The 1950 U.S. Census shows Ostoja living in Los Angeles with three younger, unmarried, female lodgers: Sophie Peterson, 48; Hazel Favot, 40; and Dorothea Zaph, 24.

As the last vestiges of the traveling show and vaudeville era gave way to television, Ostoja altered his act accordingly. Being buried alive for hours, for instance, wasn’t a trick well suited to a broadcast studio or a five-minute segment of a thirty-minute variety show. Although he continued to tour, his act had to evolve if he wanted a larger audience.

Ostoja lying on a bed of nails

By 1957 he was lying on swords while people dropped boulders on him, walking on hot coals, jamming hat pins through his tongue and palm without blood or pain, and visiting other planets while in a trance. "The people of Mars are not little green men," he said. "They are taller than we. And the people of Venus are round, how shall I say, plump." 

He also encouraged the drinking coffee and the smoking of cigarettes, saying they both "have vitamin B-12." (Both of these assertions are patently false.)

By then, Ostoja claimed he’d been buried for up to fourteen consecutive days with no ill effect. He also claimed he had shared or taught his mystical skills to 250,000 people, including such celebrities as Leopold Stokowski, Aldous Huxley, Dick Powell, Joan Blondell, Lana Turner, Anna May Wong. 

Promotion of Ostoja, focused on his links to Hollywood stars.

His TV appearances increased is fame, which meant more and better bookings for in-person appearances. These appearances, in turn, increased his visibility with television executives looking for something interesting to broadcast. He became, as one newspaper columnist put it, one of the “most popular cosmic consultants” in showbiz.

Ostoja played Carnegie Hall on Oct. 27 and 28, 1958, where he ate glass, walked barefoot on broken glass, was "hit over his stomach with a 40-pound sledgehammer," and performed other amazing feats. Among the attendees was Tonight Show host Jack Paar, who was a fan and had showcased Ostoja on his program. 

By the late 1950s and early 1960s, Ostoja was putting on performances all over the United States an even in Canada. Appeared on Steve Allen's show in August 1964, firewalking. His billing was last after a Beatles spoof by Santa Ana's John Raitt and Cliff "Charley Weaver" Arquette.

From the Belleville News Democrat, Jan. 3, 1958

But for all his fame, the Air Force was underwhelmed with his offer to train future astronauts how to "withstand the emotional and physical stress of rocket flight into outer space, and also to be able to go without nourishment, if necessary." Nonetheless, the offer got him more media attention.

Around the peak of his fame, in 1964, Ostoja seemed to largely disappear from public view.

Despite all his mystical powers, he died June 9, 1974 in Los Angeles County. The Institute of Infinite Science disappeared. But for many years, Ostoja Laboratories of Reseda, California, continued to make and sell a Peruvian tree oil healing balm developed by the yogi. He also left behind an assortment of books and booklets, including Mind Made Visible (1928), Body and Mind Control (1949), and A New Revolutionary Way of Eating (1954), -- all of which sell for remarkable prices on eBay today.

And despite the many times his burials were covered in the press, the whereabout of Ostoja’s actual mortal remains are unknown. Perhaps he will appear at a séance or through a Ouija bord someday. Or perhaps he’ll claw his way out of whatever grave he’s in – fresh as a daisy and awaiting another round of applause.

The Carlton Chronicle rides again!

Last week, Newspapers.com added 111 titles to their searchable database. So of course, I had to see if any Orange County newspapers were included. Imagine my surprise to see the Carlton Chronicle on the list – a paper I’d never heard of, let alone seen! Then imagine my surprise upon seeing that only one issue – the inaugural edition of February 25, 1888 – was available! 

On the other hand, this one issue appears to account for 50% of the Carlton Chronicle’s run, which continued for one more weekly issue, only to go AWOL during the second week of March 1888. 

Carlton, wrote Phil Brigandi, was “a failed townsite laid out in 1888 near Prospect Avenue and Imperial Highway in what is now Yorba Linda. It was surrounded by the Olinda Tract and consisted of scores of tiny little lots. But the Boom of the Eighties had already burst when Carlton when on the market and the town never went anywhere.”

One of the best features in the first edition is this map.

The Chronicle was just one of numerous efforts to make the doomed town seem viable to potential investors. It featured articles with headlines like "A Brilliant Future -- Carlton's Flattering Prospects" and "How We Progress: Rapid Development of a New Town in Southern California." Above the fold on page one was an article entitled, "How Blizzards Work," giving the impression that folks in Carlton were altogether unfamiliar with the concept of bad weather.

In short, today's historian isn't going to glean as much information about the few residents of Carlton as they might like from these four pages. But it's a great document of one of the many Southern California boom towns that fizzled in the late 1880s and how they tried to promote themselves.

To make sure nobody igonored it, the Chronicle's masthead was printed in red – an unusual feature mocked by other local papers, including the Los Angeles Tribune and the Anaheim Gazette. The Santa Cruz Sentinel also commented on "the redheaded Carlton Chronicle, published by a green firm in a fresh Los Angeles county burg..."  

The Chronicle was published by the "Carlton Printing and Publishing Co." and printed in Los Angeles. There were plans to begin printing it in Carlton within a month of the first edition, but the little rag didn’t survive that long.

If you know where to find the second and final edition of the Carlton Chronicle, drop me a line.

Tract map of Carlton (Not from the pages of the Chronicle.)

The Hotel Rossmore, Santa Ana

An early view of the Brunswick/Rossmore Hotel, Santa Ana

The Hotel Rossmore, which stood at the northwest corner of 4th and Sycamore streets in Santa Ana, opened in about 1887 as the Hotel Brunswick: a "boom era" tourist hotel financed in part by city father William "Uncle Billy" Spurgeon and operated by W. W. Ward. 

Of course, the railroad boom went bust, and by the early 1900s, it was redubbed the Hotel Rossmore. It eventually became known for catering to traveling salesman. 

The Woolworth's building, on the same location, as of Sept. 2025.

The Rossmore was badly damaged in the so-called "Long Beach Earthquake" of March 10, 1933. In fact, two people were killed as they exited the hotel onto 4th Street and were immediately buried by falling rubble. In the quake's aftermath, the hotel was largely demolished and only partly rebuilt. The new iteration, called the New Rossmore Hotel, had 32 room -- half its original number.

Postcard image of the destruction at the Rossmore Hotel in 1933. Arrow over the door shows where two people were killed by falling debris.

Having finally become unprofitable, the hotel closed on May 1, 1950 and plans were made for a new Woolworth's "five-and-dime" store to be built in its place. Woolworth's had previously been in another building on 4th Street, which had also been badly damaged in the 1933 quake.

The leases for the last tenants in the hotel building were up in 1952 and demolition began promptly thereafter, followed by the construction of Woolworth's. The new store opened in February 1953. 

Woolworth's was a fixture and a staple for locals in the years before shopping malls took over the retail landscape. But the times did change, and in 1992 Woolworth's closed. In the decades since, the building has housed other businesses, including Fallas Paredes and now the El Vaquero clothing store.

Anaheim Valencia Growers Association

Famed attorney, congressman, and Secretary of State Daniel Webster (1782-1852) adorned The Webster Brand of citrus from Anaheim Valencia Growers Assoc. It was likely a sly reference to founder and manager William Webster.

In late 1922, the booming growth of Orange County's citrus industry led to the formation of yet another citrus cooperative: The Anaheim Valencia Growers Association (AVG). By December, organizers William L. Benchly of the Benchly Fruit Co. of Fullerton and William Webster of the California Fruit Growers Supply Co. were trying to sell stock in the new venture. It appears they only convinced one other investor to come aboard -- Fullerton attorney Guss Hagenstein -- as these three men were later listed not only as the company's first board members but also as the only stockholders.

On January 3, 1923, the Anaheim Valencia Growers Association filed incorporation papers with the County Clerk. From the start, AVG was affiliated with the California Fruit Growers Exchange and its fruit would carry the Sunkist brand and benefit from their promotional and distribution prowess. 

As historian Phil Brigandi liked to say, "Sunkist could have taught Disney a thing or two about marketing."

Anaheim Valencia Growers stock certificate (Courtesy Gil Gerhardt)

Coordinating with the formation of AVG, the Santa Fe Land Improvement Co. built a new 90-foot by 130-foot packing house along the railroad tracks at 805 E. Center St. (now Lincoln Ave.) in Anahiem. The architect was Frank K. Benchley, and the builder was Dan Coons -- both of Fullerton. The Santa Fe immediately leased the packing house to the new Anaheim Valencia Growers, which began operating in the building on May 28, 1923. Once in operation, William Webster served as the association's manager and L. E. Cameron worked as their field representative.

AVG's brands included Lincoln (fancy), Webster (extra choice), and Robert E. Lee (Red Ball).

Crate labels helped commercial buyers easily spot specific brands and qualities of citrus from across large produce warehouses back East. 

As author Tom Pulley put it, the Association "failed to attract enough acreage to become profitable." So AVG looked for additional revenue streams in an effort to stay afloat. In June 1924, they began promoting their new orange juice and made free samples available in local stores. And in 1925, Orange County Citrus Products began subletting AVG's packing house as their own plant, producing orange, lemon and grapefruit juice, as well as their Golden Orange and Royal Orange drinks, made from "culls."

But the efforts with juice only forestalled the inevitable. In March 1926, the Anaheim Valencia Growers Association closed. They sold their stock, supplies, and lease on their packing house to the Olive Fruit Co. Olive had by then become the largest "cash buying organization" in the area and needed a larger facility to pack the ever-increasing quantities of oranges. 

AVG was dead. 

How dead? 

In 1928, it made an appearance in the delightfully titled Marvyn Scudder Manual of Extinct or Obsolete Companies. 

That's pretty dead.

But at least the organization's name would make a comeback. 

On January 9, 1936, the Anaheim Orange & Lemon Association -- having not handled lemons since 1931 -- finally decided to change its name. It was hard to imagine a more succinctly descriptive replacement than "Anaheim Valencia Growers Associaton." And thus, the old name was rinsed off and recycled. This was an entirely different organization than the original AVG, and with utterly different management (Gerald W. Sandilands was secretary/co-founder/manager), but would similarly find itself expanding into the orange juice business to bolster revenue. 

The "new" Anaheim Valencia Growers Association ceased operations at the end of the 1957 season and closed the following year, as Orange County's golden citrus era drew to a close.

Is it a cooincidence that General Robert E. Lee -- the commander of the losing Confederate States Army -- was used to represent AVG's second-quality "Red Ball" citrus, while their highest quality fruit was represented by The Lincoln Brand?

Many thanks to Tom Pulley and Jane Newell for their help with this article.

Weber's Bread bakery in Santa Ana

Kilpatrick's Bread Bakery stood about where a brick building is today at 2670 N. Main St, Santa Ana (From ad in Huntington Beach News, 11-1- 1928)

Although gone for over 45 years, the Interstate Bakers Corp complex (a.k.a. Weber's Bread Plant #28) is one of those Orange County spots that generates a lot of nostalgia and questions from the public. It was built in 1927 as a beautiful Spanish Colonial Revival at 2656 N. Main Street, along the State Highway (now Interstate 5) in Santa Ana. It was Kilpatrick's Bakery until March 1930, when numerous local industrial bakeries -- including Kilpatrick's and Weber’s -- amalgamated as the Interstate Bakers Corp. The factory would bake for many brands, including Millbrook, Weber's Bread, Dolly Madison, and Four S Bakery. 

Glass advertising slide from Colonial Theater, S. Glassell St, Orange, mid-1920s (Courtesy Orange Public Library. Thanks Roger Fitschen.)

From this point on, the names Weber Baking Co. and Interstate Bakers Corp. seem to be used almost interchangeably for the facility. Numerous additions were built onto the bakery, including in 1941, 1963, and an attached retail bakery store in 1968. 

The bakery is well-remembered by many who attended elementary school in Orange County during the 1960s. Back then, this facility was a popular place for class field trips. Busloads of students from schools as far aways as San Clemente and Olinda were brought to the bakery to see baked goods being made with all kinds of large-scale equipment. Each child got a piece of bread to eat while on the tour and received a whole free loaf of fresh Weber's Bread to take home to their family. *

North Main St. at the I-5 in Santa Ana, 1959

In a strange twist of corporate diversification, Interstate was acquired by Data Processing Financial & General Corp. in 1975. By 1978, most locals associated the place more for its "thrift bakery" retail shop than for the factory itself. And the Carter Era "malaise" made discounted day-old bread even more popular.

But it was also an era of corporate consolidations and streamlining. After closing the Main Street facility, Interstate Brands Corp. sold the property in 1980 to the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Santa Ana. Between city redevelopment efforts and new freeway expansions and overcrossings by the State, the entire area underwent significant change. Along with the nearby (and also-well-remembered) Skate Ranch, the bakery complex was soon demolished.

Snoopy shills for Weber's in a 1970s TV ad.

* - Thanks to Randy Goodno, Chris Farren, Duncan Wilson, and others who shared their school tour memories. For those under 50 who don't know what a "field trip" is,... Back in the days before Sacramento wrested most of the power and money away from local school districts (and before teaching was focused on standardized tests), California consistently ranked near the top among states for education. A small but not insignificant part of that education was taking children different places on "field trips," where they could learn about the world first-hand. They might learn how a goldfish farm worked, or how widgets were made in a factory. Or they might go to a museum or attend a classical or folk music concert. Having fun while learning was a good thing.

Early Catholic property transactions in O.C.

Santa Maria Catholic Church (1912-1968), Fullerton, 1910s.

I won't claim I’ve captured every transaction, but the following list covers most of the real estate transactions of the Roman Catholic Church in Orange County that were filed between Aug 1, 1889 (the moment of Orange County's birth) and the end of 1926. Perhaps this will come in handy someday for someone researching Church history. Please note that Orange County did not always have its own diocese and over the years was part of the Diocese of Monterey-Los Angeles, the Diocese of Los Angeles-San Diego, and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Abbreviations used in this timeline include MM (Miscellaneous Maps), Deeds (Orange County Book of Deeds), OR (Official Records of Orange County), all of which are government record series available through the County Archives.

Diocese Property Transactions in Orange County, California - Filed 1889-1926 (and related data)

1887 Aug 12 -- Bishop (Francis Mora) sells a portion of "downtown" San Juan Capistrano to the San Bernardino & San Diego Railway Co. (Deeds 219/54)

1892 Aug 20 -- Bishop sells to M. A. Forster: Land near Olive St. in the Mission Tract, San Juan Capistrano (Deeds 55/78)

1892 Nov 11 -- Bishop sells to Southern California Railway Co.: A 60-foot strip of land alongside the railroad tracks in San Juan Capistrano (Deeds 78/60)

1892 Nov 17 -- Bishop sells to Mrs. Zaneta Lecroq of Anaheim: Most of the W 30 acres of the SE 1/4 of the SW 1/4 of Section 8, T 4 S, R 10 W, SBM for $1800. (Deeds 78/148)

1895 Aug 13 -- Bishop sells to Pia Baker & Seraphina Maerz of San Francisco: 0.022 acres at Palm St. near Center St, Anaheim. The deed reads, “Beginning at a point on the center line of Palm St. 459.25 ft N 15 ½ degrees W of center line of Center St., thence S 15 11/2 degrees E 6.1 ft, … thence S 74 ½ degrees W parallel with Center St. 165 ft … thence N 15 ½ degrees W 6.1 ft … thence N 74 ½ degrees E 165 ft to the point of beginning...” (Deeds 102/397)

1896 Aug 31 -- Francis Mora of L.A. grants to Bishop Montgomery the following 40 acres of land for the building and maintaining of St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church in Anaheim: NW 1/4 of the NE 1/4 of Section 25, T 4 S, R 10 W, SBM. The deed is subject to reservations contained in the deeds made by the Stearns Ranchos Co conveying said land and is subject also to a life estate (a written request which accompanied the conveyance) in said property for and during the natural life of John Timney by whom said land was conveyed to Mora. [Note: The notary for this document was William R. Burke.] (Deeds 29/6)

Pink rectangle on modern map shows NW 1/4 of NE 1/4 of Section 25, T4S, R10W SBM

1896 Aug 31 -- Francis Mora also grants to Bishop Montgomery the following property: A) Lots 1, 2, 6 and 7 of Block 9 of the Town of San Juan Capistrano, B) A 20-ft wide, 493-ft long strip of land (for a road) on the W boundary of Section 6, T 8 S, R 7 w, SBM, running from Spring St. on the N to the land of Francis Mora on the S. (Deeds 29/8. Also see Deeds 219/54)

1897 Jun 12 -- Bishop sells to William F. Strohschein: One acre in Mission  Tract #4, San Juan Capistrano, for $250. (Deeds 33/49)

1897 Oct 9 -- Bank of America, L.T. & Cecil J Garnsey (of L.A.) sell to Bishop Montgomery some land at Center St and Palm St [likely for St. Boniface]. Deed reads, “…Commencing at the intersection of the center lines of Center St. and Palm St. [in the City of Anaheim] … and running thence N 15 ½ degrees W 358.15 ft; thence S 74 ½ degrees W 185 ft; thence N 15 ½ degrees W 358.15 ft; thence S 74 ½ degrees W 185 ft; thence S 15 ½ degrees E 358.15 ft to the center of Center St.; and thence N 74 ½ degrees E 185 ft to the place of beginning; containing 1 ½ acres, more or less, and being a portion of Vineyard Lot D6 . . . reserving therefrom the S 35 ft and E 34 ¾ ft for ½ of Center and Palm streets, respectively.” (Deeds 35/157)

1899 Dec 18 -- Bishop sells to William F. Strohschein: A little over an acre near Spring St, San Juan Capistrano (Deeds 47/87)

1901 Jun 20 -- Bishop sells to William F. Strohschein: A little over an acre near Spring St, San Juan Capistrano (Deeds 62/214)

1902 Jan 17 -- Court finds in favor of defendant Clementina Langenberger and Bishop Montgomery, who'd been sued by the City of Anaheim. Ruling confirmed that the Bishop now owned this land: Commencing at the SE corner of Lot 15 of the Langenberger Tract, running thence N 150 ft along the E line of Lots 15 and 16 to the S line of 1st North St, thence E along the S line of said 1st North St 110 ft to the W line of Palm St., thence S along the W boundary line of Palm St 150 ft to the N boundary line of Center St, thence W along the N boundary line of Center St 110 ft to the place of beginning...  (Deeds 72/202)

1902 Jul 12 -- John Timney died

1902 Nov 17 -- Bishop sells Original Building Lot 15 [of Anaheim] to the City of Anaheim for $350 (Deeds 85/12). A small Catholic church is depicted on this W. Cypress Street site in the 1891 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map for Anahiem. (See image below.)

Detail of 1891 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Anaheim (LoC)

1902 Nov 17 -- Bishop sells to J. M. C. Hill of Orange County: (40 acres) NW 1/4 of NE 1/4 of Section 25, T 4 S, R 11 W, SBM, for $1575. (Deeds 83/99)

1902 Dec 19 -- The property of the late John Timney goes to Bishop Montgomery. Specifically, the NW 1/4 of the NE 1/4 of Section 25, T 4 S, R 11 W, SBM (40 acres)

1903 Oct 29 -- Sarah & May I. Flood sell the E 10 acres of the N 20 acres of the NE 1/4 of the SE 1/4 of Section 17, T 4 S, R 10 W to the Bishop. (Deeds 97/373)

1903 Nov 13 -- The Stearns Ranchos Co quitclaims to the Bishop any remaining interest in the following: E 10 acres of the N 20 acres of the NE 1/4 of the SE 1/4 of Section 17, T 4 S, R 10 W to the Bishop. (Deeds 103/46) 

1904 Feb 15 -- Bishop sells to Marcos A. Forster: Tract 5, containing about 29 acres of lands at the Mission San Juan Capistrano (Deeds 103/214)

1904 Mar 16 -- Bishop sells to Michael Litten: The 6 acres immediately above Holy Cross Cemetery (Anaheim) for $850 (Deeds 103/264)

1906 Mar 26 -- C. N. Flint, trustee of the city and county of Los Angeles, sells Lots 6 through 10 in Block 9 of the Benedict Tract (MM 4/38-39, Deeds 96/359)

1909 Sep 17 -- Superior Court grants St. Dominic Female Religious Order the right to sell Vineyard Lot C6 in Anaheim for $10,000 (Deeds 177/77)

1910 Mar 10 -- St. Dominic Female Religious Order sells land (probably Vineyard Lot C6) to Albert Muckenthaler.

1912 Feb 6 -- A. J. & Fannie Backs grant the following to the Bishop: lots 11 & 12 in Block A of the Laird Subdivision (MM 6/12)(Deeds 209/274)

1912 Apr 23 -- S. N. & Jennie Fuller sell property in Fullerton to the Bishop: Lots 28, 29 & 30 in Block 29 of the Townsite of Fullerton. (Deeds 211/124)

 1912 May 15 -- Peter F. & Emma J. Johnson sell property in Fullerton to the Bishop: Lots 26 & 27, Block 29, Townsite of Fullerton (Deeds 212/141)

1912 Jul 18 -- J. W. & R. Illa Hand and G. W. & Kate Hamlin sell property to the Bishop: Lots 17 & 19, Block 310 of Huntington Beach. (St. Mary's By the Sea)(Deeds 141/334)

1912 Jul 18 -- Frank A. J. & B. Yulu Diss of Los Angeles sell Lots 21, 23, 25 & 27 in Block 310 of Huntington Beach to the Bishop. (St. Mary's By the Sea) (Deeds 218/354)

1912 Jul 18 -- Roman Catholic Bishop of Monterey & L.A. sells the E 16.25 ft of the S 427 ft of Vineyard Lot D6 to the City of Anaheim (Deeds 224/58)

1912 Nov 15 -- Roman Catholic Bishop of Monterey & L.A. sells land in or adjacent to Vineyard Lot D6 to City of Anaheim for the purpose of extending Chartres Street. Until the street is expanded, the Church will retain use of the property. (Deeds 224/59)

1912/1913 -- Plat Map shows Catholic Cemetery on E. Center St., near today's Evergreen St.

1913 Jul 26 -- The Yoch Co. (of Santa Ana) sells to the Bishop: Lot 92 & 93 of Laguna Beach. (Deeds 242/185)

1914 Jan 30 -- Leo & Marie E. Borchard sell to the Bishop: Lots 24, 26 & 28 in Block 205 of Huntington Beach. (Deeds 247/257)

1914 Sep 10 -- Rev. H. Eummelen sells to the Bishop: Lots 5, 6 & 7 in Block 75 of Town of Santa Ana East (MM 10/43-44) (Deeds 295/113)

1915 Feb 15 -- Estate of Clementina Langenberger is settled. A few excerpts from her will: Her brother, Gustave Zimmerman, gets 5 shares of stock in the Anaheim Sugar Co. She left $1,000 to St. Catherine Orphan Asylum of Anaheim, and $1,000 to the Catholic Church of Anaheim. She left $500 to the city for the purposes of erecting a fountain in memory of her and her husband, Augustus, "in the Plaza at the City of Anaheim." (Deeds 264/383)

1915 Aug 6th -- Catherine E. Measor Leieritz sells to the Bishop: Lots 1 & 2 in Block 4, Tract 39.(MM 9/37) (Our Lady of Guadalupe) (Deeds 269/256)

1915 Sep 8 -- Ruth C. Fairchild (widow of O. G. Fairchild of San Francisco) sells to the Bishop: Lots 25 & 26, Block 4 of Aliso City (MM 1/44) (Deeds 270/18)

1915 Sep 25 -- Bishop allows State Highway Dept to build a State Highway across Lots 6 & 7, Block 9 of Mission Tract No. 1, in San Juan Capistrano (Deeds 278/151)

1918 Jun 5 -- Bishop sells Lots 9-11 of Tract 50, in San Juan Capistrano, to Standard Oil Co. (Deeds 324/195)

1918 Sep 25 -- Bishop sells Lots 9-11 of Tract 50, in San Juan Capistrano, to the State of California (Deeds 328/187)

1919 Jun 18 -- Bishop sells Lot 6, Block 9 of Town of San Juan Capistrano to Etienne Oyharzabal (Deeds 321/113)

1919 Dec 4 -- Bishop sells Lots 11 & 12 of Block A of Laird's Hotel Del Campo Tract in Anaheim to Catherine Larsen (Deeds 346/335)

1920 Jan 26 -- Bishop sells Lot 8 of Tract 50, in San Juan Capistrano, to Otto John Lierman (Deeds 355/394)

1920 Feb 2 -- Ashby & Josephine Mottz Turner sell to Bishop: Block 73 of the Town of Santa Ana East. Also that portion of Wellington Ave abutting said block on the N side, which was abandoned by the City. (Deeds 356/353)

1920 Mar 11 -- Bishop sells Lot 7 of Tract 50, in San Juan Capistrano, to James Monroe Walmer & Ellen Marie Walmer (Deeds 357/245)

1920 Mar 17 -- Bishop sells Lots 3-6 of Tract 50, in San Juan Capistrano, to Leon Eyrand, et ux (Deeds 357/328)

1920 Jun 18 -- St. Catherine Orphan Asylum sells 2/9th interest in some property at the corner of Lemon & Santa Ana Streets in Anaheim to Maria C. Shanley (Deeds 363/108)

1921 Jun 16 -- Bayside Land Co. (P. A. Stanton, president) sells to Bishop: Lot 17 in Block 209 of the Bayview Tract (MM 91/8) (Deeds 388/356)

1921 Aug 3 -- Bayside Land Co. sells to Bishop: Lot 15 in Block 209 of the Bayview Tract (Deeds 403/82)

1921 Oct 20 -- M. J. Galvin sells to the Bishop: W 1/2 of Acreage Lot 61 of the Townsite of Fullerton. (Deeds 405/417)

1922 Jan 27 -- Orange Methodist Episcopal Church sells to the Bishop a parcel commencing at the NE corner of Chapman and Shaffer Streets, as shown on Henry Grote's Addition to Orange, running thence N along the E line of Shaffer St 162 feet, thence E 170 ft, thence S 162 ft to the N line of Chapman St, thence W 170 ft to the point of beginning. (Deeds 412/57)

1922 May 27 -- Ignacio (or Ygnacio) 7 Cyrille Cervantes grant to the Bishop: S 50 ft of the N 200 ft of the E 1/2 of Lot 3 of the Town of Westminster (Deeds 426/328)

1922 Aug 8 -- Mary C. Measor of Washington, D. C. sells to Bishop Cantwell the land at Central Ave and Halladay St in the Delhi area of Santa Ana that would become Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. (Deeds 436/171)

1922 Sep 15 -- Bishop sells Lots 1 & 2 in Tract 39 in Santa Ana to Mary C. Measor (Deeds 436/170)

1922 Dec 11 -- Bishop sells a portion of Block A in Tract 124 in Santa Ana to Ashby Turner (Deeds 448/38)

1923 Jan 11 -- Bishop sells another portion of Block A in Tract 124 in Santa Ana to Ashby Turner (Deeds 450/362)

1923 Mar 15 -- The Pacific Electric Land Co sells to the Bishop: Lots 19, 20, 21 & 22 of Block 14 in Tract 234 (Deeds 465/174)

1923 Mar 21 -- Patrick Browne sells to the Bishop: A portion (see deed) of the SW 1/4 of the NE 1/4 of the NE 1/4 of Section 5, T 5 S, R 10 W, SBM (Deeds 460/198)

1923 Apr 4 -- Bishop sells Lots 26-30 in Block 29 of the Townsite of Fullerton to A. H. Rothaermel and A. D. Moodie (Deeds 472/113)

1923 Apr 18 -- Leo & Marie E. Borchard and D. E. & Polly O. Ford sell to the Bishop: Lots 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 of Block A of Tract 352 in Santa Ana. (Deeds 470/176)

1923 May 14 -- Charles D. & Lydia M. Smith quitclaim to the Bishop: E 1/2 of Lots 28, 29 & 30 in Block 29 of the Townsite of Fullerton. (Deeds 472/112)

1923 May 14 -- H. H. & Margaret L Crooke sell to the Bishop: A parcel near the intersection of Amerige Ave and Commonwealth Ave (near the Richman Addition) in Fullerton. (Deeds 590/58)

1923 Jun 28 -- A. & P. L. Ruiz sell to the Bishop: Lots 7 & 8 of Block B of Bartlett's Adition to Santa Ana (Deeds 475/303 & 512/107)

1923 Jul 26 -- Bishop sells a portion of Block A of Tract 124 in Santa Ana to Ashby Turner (Deeds 481/388)

1924 Jan 2 -- Carl J. & Lena A. Klatt sell to the Bishop: Lots 21 to 26 in Block 75 of Santa Ana East (Deeds 512/146)

1924 Jun 9 -- The Bixby Land Co sells to the Bishop (for less than $100): Lots 13, 14, 15 & 16 in Block 30 of the Town of Los Alamitos (Licensed Surveyors Maps OC 1/25)

1925 Feb 11 -- John & Ida M. Rudolph and Henry Emmelen sell to the Bishop: Lots 27 & 28 in block 75 in the town of Santa Ana East. (Deeds 566/310)

1925 Jul 24 -- James C. Doyle sells to Bishop: A parcel adjacent to Lot 4, Block 8 of the Golden State Tract, Placentia. (Deeds 597/283)

1925 Dec 15 -- Eustace R. & Emma D. Parsons sell to the Bishop: Lot 66 in Block A of Bradfords Resubdivision of Blocks H & I of Placentia (MM 8/65) (Deeds 627/17)

1926 Jan 2 -- A. M. & Lou B. O'Brien sell to the Bishop: The E 45 ft of the W 510 ft of the S 220 ft of the N 440 ft of the NW 1/4 of the NW 1/4 of Section 9, T 5 S, R 10 W, SBM (Deeds 625/25)

1926 Jun 9 -- Jennie & Jennie E. McFadden sell to the Bishop: Lot 18 of Block E in Tract 245 (in Santa Ana). Covenants only allow for houses to be built. (Deeds 655/295)

1926 Sep 23 -- Bishop sells to A. H. & Clara Stetson Reid: Tract 2 and Tract 3 of the Land at the Mission San Juan Capistrano (L.A. Patents 1/588; or part of Tract 808 in MM 24/23)

1926 Sep 24 -- A. H. & Clara Stetson Reid sell to Bishop: Lot 5 in Block 6, Tract 808 (San Juan Capistrano; MM 24/23)(Deeds 681/325)

1926 Oct 23 -- Bishop of San Diego & L.A. sells Tracts 1 & 2 of the Land at the Mission San Juan Capistrano (now part of Tract 808) to A. H. & Clara Stetson Reid (Deeds 681/324. Also see MM 24/23 and L.A. County Patents 1/588)

4th of July, 1950, Huntington Beach

The photo above shows longtime city and county leader Thomas B. "Tom" Talbert (left) on his horse, Easter, and A & S Petroleum manager James Albert on his horse, Duke, on Main Street in the 43rd Annual Huntington Beach Fourth of July Parade in 1950. 

That year's event was dubbed the "Golden California Centennial Parade." The parade drew about 100,000 attendees and lasted two hours. According to a timeline held by the Huntington Beach Public Library, the 1950 celebration also included "daytime and evening dancing, jalopy races, bathing beauty contest, carnival on the beach, fireworks," a talent show, and an air show, but was "marred by a plane crash of one of the show's performers." Parade participants were served a lunch buffet at Lake Park. 

Parade route map (Santa Ana Register, 7-2-1950)

The city's traditional Fourth of July Parade and celebration began in 1904 to mark not just the anniversary of the nation's independence, but also the arrival (just a few days earlier) of the Pacific Electric Railway's "Red Car" trolley system to the town. 

The Red Cars were to be a lynchpin of the new town's success and everyone was excited. The day's festivities were organized by the Board of Trade (Chamber of Commerce) under the direction of Jesse A. Armitage of Sunset Beach. 

About 50,000 people came to the event, many of whom were encouraged to attend by the fifty (or so) real estate men promoting lot sales in Huntington Beach. In addition to the parade, there were speeches, games, a fireworks show, and (perhaps best of all) free barbeque!