From: "RUDECINDA LOBUGLIO" lobuglio@thegrid.net
Subject: SPURGEON FOUNDER OF SANTA ANA????
Date: Mon, 30 Nov 1998
The City of Santa Ana, in Orange County, was founded by WILLIAM H. SPURGEON in 1868 and
was named Santa Ana because of its location near the center of Rancho Santiago de Santa
Ana. The post office was established on July 5, 1870, and the city was incorporated on
June 1, 188 6, and became the county seat in 1889, and was where my parents were married
in 1929. 20 Old Santa Ana, the first settlement in Orange County after the founding of
Mission San Juan Capistrano was located on El Camino Real where it crossed the Santa Ana
River. After Spurgeon laid out the presen t- day City of Santa Ana, this became Old Santa
Ana. In 1877 when a school was opened there, it was called the Olive School and that name
replaced Old Santa Ana. Thus Olive is the oldest town in Orange County, except fo r San
Juan Capistrano itself. 20 The Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana was eleven leagues granted to
Antonio Yorba and Juan Pablo Peralta on July 1, 1810, by the Spanish Governor Arrillaga.
The towns/cities of Olive, Orange, Santa Ana, Tustin and Costa Mesa, to name but a few,
are part of the original grant. It took i ts name from the Santa Ana River, and the
Santiago Creek. Rancho Santa Ana del Chino was located in Los Angeles AND San Bernardino
Counties between present-day cities of Chino and Pomona. It was granted to Antonio Maria
Lugo in 1841 by Governor Alvardo and an addition was granted by Governor Micheltorena to
Isaac Williams, Lugo's son-in-law, in 1843. 20 There are also other sites named Santa Ana
in Riverside County. Information was taken from RANCHOS OF CALIFORNIA by Robert Cowan
(Fresno: Academy Library Guild, 1956) and Don Meadows HISTORIC PLACE NAMES IN ORANGE
COUNTY (Balboa Island, California: Paisano Press, 1966). Paulette, is your husband
descended from Julian and MarEDa de JE9sus L ugo Williams? If so, we are related. There
was also another Williams in the early San Bernardino history, as I recall the wife of
Sheriff Mathews of San Bernardino. His son married my Grandfather's sister, Artha Rena
Shearer Mathews. Hope this is of some help in solving the Spurgeon matter. Best wishes
from the Sierra, Cindy Lo Buglio ----------
I grew up (mostly) in Santa Ana .... The old story as I heard it was that the Portola
expedition named the area because they "discovered it" on the feast day of Saint
Ann. My recollection of the Portola Exp. is they followed an inland route, probably near
the present day I 15 fwy, & saw the green valley & river in the vicinity of
present day City of Corona, then followed it into what became (much later) Orange County.
They most likely followed the San Jacinto River North from "Lake Elsinore"
(actually a bend in the river) to Corona. The next unit to the South is the Santa
Margarita river which flows south to Oceanside. The Santa Margarita watershed starts from
a variety of tributaries, one of which begins approx. 2 miles south of Elsinore. So
whether Portola started in San Diego, or came in from Arizona (I don't recall), he was
basically following river to river in CA. The Santa Ana River begins in the mountains east
of San Bernardino, flows thru the Santa Ana Canyon (Corona area), thru the west side of
the city of Santa Ana, onward to the ocean. The water table is quite high, approximately
to the Corona area, & the river bed rarely gets completely dry ... just kind of swampy
in dry times with thick green stuff. Phil Van Camp pvc@vancamp.org