The Town of Olive

The history of the town of Olive (now part of northern Orange) will be the topic of the Orange County Historical Society's general meeting this Thursday, March 8. OCHS board member Daralee Ota will discuss the area's early pastoral days; the rancho lifestyle of the Yorbas; the bustling, boomtown era when Olive boasted a lucrative flour mill; the citrus era; and Olive's development into a modern residential community. Daralee's program will be based, in part, on her Web site, Olive Through the Ages. The program will begin at 7:30p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church, 2400 N. Canal St. (which is actually in Olive), and is free to the public.

The photo at the top of today's post shows the old St. Paul's Lutheran Church (1912) in Olive, which is now part of North Orange Christian Church. The photo below shows the second flour mill at Olive on opening day in 1890.

 In the 1800s, the area below the bend of the Santa Ana River was known by several names, including Yorbas, Santa Ana (before the modern community of Santa Ana was founded), Old Santa Ana, Burruel Point, Olive Ranch, and eventually Olive. Although Olive never became its own city, many still identify themselves as Olive residents.

Daralee launched her Olive website when she found very little information about the community online. Having grown up near the area and wondering about this town that faded away over the decades, Daralee began researching Olive in 2004, amazed to discover its rich and vast history.

A few years ago, she added the "Living Branch" section to her Web site to share even more information about Olive's history, including stories, maps, and images contributed by individuals with a personal interest or connection to Olive. (Submissions of photos and other relevant content are welcomed for possible inclusion in this portion of the Web site.)

All the photos in today's post come from her site. The photo above shows the Olive Heights Citrus Association packing house (1928) as it appeared in 1982. The photo below shows the Schorn House (ca 1889) at Ocean View and Bixby in Olive.

I got a very brief preview of the presentation Daralee has prepared, and it's rather impressive. She should be making documentaries for PBS or something. Anyway, I hope to see you on Thursday.