Thursday, December 22, 2022

Bunk and facts about Orange County's name

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1889 map of the newly formed Orange County. (Courtesy Library of Congress) How did Orange County get its name? There are many colorful, popu...
Friday, December 16, 2022

A glimpse of Register history with Jim Sleeper

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James Doren Sleeper in his office with a few old newspapers. Local newspapers were one of the many significant interests of the late great O...
Wednesday, November 23, 2022

A personal milestone

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You can now nominate me, if you so choose, for the National Register of Historic Places. And unless I get plastic surgery (which is unlikely...
Thursday, November 17, 2022

Thanksgiving, Anaheim, 1874

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Thanksgiving dinner in the 1870s (F. G. Weller stereoview card) The following item appeared in the Anaheim Gazette , Nov. 28, 1874: "Th...
Friday, September 16, 2022

The Blinking Owl, Santa Ana

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The building that housed the Blinking Owl bar is now Cafe Cito. (Author's photo) Over the years -- even before the name was borrowed for...
Monday, August 29, 2022

A recent place name mystery: J G Island

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J G Island outlined in red. Does anyone know what the "J G" means in the placename "J G Island Beach?" The name refers t...
Friday, August 19, 2022

A Lost Place Name: Cañada del Rodeo

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Detail from a sligtly wonky 1912 oil map. (Courtesy Paul Spitzzeri) Cañada del Rodeo (a.k.a. Rodeo Canyon) was an early name for a portion o...
Thursday, July 28, 2022

Holy Jim: The Canyon and the Man

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Jim (right) with two fellow G.A.R. members, circa 1900. A lot of flatlanders were left scratching their heads when fire authorities dubbed a...