
Thursday, January 10 , 2019
Meeting Begins at 7:00pm
Program at 7:30pm
Trinity Episcopal Church, 2400 N. Canal St., Orange, CA
This month we will kick off our Centennial Celebration with a look back at the history of the Orange County Historical Society. Historian and OCHS Board Member, Ellen Bell will take us back to our founding year of year of 1919. We’ll revisit the time and place and learn about a young county that was just starting to understand the importance of preserving its own history.
Back then, there were no Special Collections Libraries, or Oral History Archives or History Rooms. The county was young, but early pioneers were aging. In April of 1919, Terry Stephenson, editor of The Santa Ana Register began a weekly “Old Hunter Series,” where he shared tales of old pioneers of the Santa Ana Mountains. The articles inspired Santa Ana attorney Samuel M. Davis who called a meeting to “discuss the creation of a local preservation society.”On May 28th, 1919, the Orange County Historical Society was born. The rest, as they say, is history.
Come join us as we travel the 100-year timeline and mark the many “firsts’ of our society. Don’t miss the kick-off evening of this year-long party as we celebrate the rich heritage of the Orange County Historical Society, and a legacy of preservation that continues today!