History Speaks Softly

History Speaks Softly. Yorba Cemetery captures Orange County's rich rancho history.. In 1858, Bernardo Yorba deeded this parcel to the Catholic Church for a cemetery. More than 150 years later, Yorba Cemetery continues to offer a glimpse into Orange County's early rancho days. Long before freeways and housing tracts defined the landscape, Yorba had claimed this land. His Rancho Cañon de Santa Ana became a base of operations for cattle ranching and farming. His large adobe hacienda became the center of activity for those who called the rancho home. , In this cemetery, headstones and grave markers pay tribute to Bernardo Yorba's family and neighbors. It is the final resting place for elders and infants, farmers and ranch hands, a midwife and mason, and others who were connected to this land by birth, marriage, or employment. Over 400 people are buried here- their lives documented in stone or timber. In a cemetery, history is revealed quietly. , The Yorba family's roots run deep in Orange County. Bernardo Yorba was the son of José Antonio Yorba, a soldier who accompanied Gaspar de Portolá on his Alta California expedition in 1769-1770. Descendants of Bernardo Yorba still live in Orange County. , Yorba Cemetery is one of the oldest private cemeteries in Orange County. The last burial took place in 1939. , [sidebars] In the 1890s, a wooden San Antonio Chapel replaced the original adobe church under construction when Bernardo Yorba died. , At one time, the Yorba Hacienda (1835) was one of the finest and largest adobe houses in Alta California. , Several of the grave sites were once defined with elaborate fencing. , Capturing the view toward the hills and away from the freeway, this photograph shows how largely undeveloped this land was in the 1960s. , Black and white photographs provided by Bowers Museum and the County of Orange