When California became a state in 1850, what is now Orange County became part of Los Angeles County. The gold rush of 1849 brought tens of thousands of new settlers to California. This gave ranchers a new market for their livestock, which was sold as meat to feed mining workers. All of California was under Spanish control and, under Spanish law, the king has authority and control over the land.
In 1801, the Spanish king granted José Antonio Yorba 62,500 acres of land. Antonio called the place Rancho San Antonio. This ranch is where today the cities Orange and Olive are located, as well as Santa Ana, Villa Park, Newport Beach, Costa Mesa and Tustin. The smaller ranches were created from this large ranch, and the smaller ranch created from it includes the Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana.
A famous writer, Kim Stanley Robinson, wrote the first of his Three Californias Trilogy (or the Orange County Trilogy) series titled The Wild Shore in 1984, The Gold Coast in 1988 and Pacific Edge in 1990. It entered World War I in 1917, and in 1919 there was a victory parade to celebrate the end of World War I in Orange County Park, which later became Irvine. Orange County, located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southwestern California, is a densely populated county that includes several cities today and has a long and rich history. A rebound followed the New Millennium in California's Orange County, real estate and government budget cuts mandated by the state.
The two main groups of American Indians in Orange County were thought to originate from the Shoshonean family. However, in 1940, Orange County's population was still just 130,000, while California was approaching seven million. Southern California Bible College, currently known as Vanguard University, became the first four-year school in Orange County in 1950 after moving from Pasadena to Costa Mesa. At the start of the war with Mexico in 1846, almost all of Orange County, except for the mountainous regions, had been granted to ranchers.
In 1921, the Orange County Library, County Health Department, and Eddie Martin Airport opened for the first time. While Mexico controlled California, owners of large ranchers oversaw the development of commercial properties, houses and land in Orange County for trade. The post-war boom hit Orange County hard in the 1950s, and communities such as Garden Grove and Buena Park grew at a dizzying pace. The name suggests that oranges and other citrus fruits can grow well in the area, making it perfect for anyone who wants to move to the area for a living.
The concept of Irvine Business Spectrum emerged in 1975 and 50,000 Vietnamese refugees fleeing the Vietnam War were admitted to Orange County. With just over three million people, Orange County is the country's sixth-largest county by population.
