Yorba Linda

Yorba Linda. . In 1834, Bernardo Yorba was granted the 13,328 acre Rancho Cañon de Santa Ana by Mexican governor Jose Figueroa. Most of this land was retained by the Yorba family after the Mexican-American War in 1848. A section of the rancho was sold in 1907 to Jacob Stern for farming and sheep grazing. The following year Stern sold the property to the Janss Investment Company who named the area "Yorba Linda". Janss subdivided the property to sell by the acre for business, residential, and agricultural uses. In 1910, the first of many lemon and orange groves were planted and the population was less than 50. , A year later, in 1911, Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company began serving Yorba Linda, and the first school was constructed. By 1912 the town received its first post office, the Yorba Linda Citrus Association was founded, Southern California Edison began providing electricity, and the first church was constructed. This original "downtown” area was connected to Los Angeles by the Pacific Electric Railway in 1912. In 1913, former President Richard Nixon was born in Yorba Linda. That same year the Chamber of Commerce was formed, the library opened, and avocado trees were first planted. In 1917, Yorba Linda Boulevard became the first paved street. , The original downtown ("Old Town") was located on Main Street and the surrounding streets of Lemon Drive, Olinda Street, Arroyo Street, School Street, and other nearby roads. Today, many of these original buildings from the early days of 1910-1920 still exist. Examples include: the first schoolhouse (1911) at 486 Olinda Street, the Masonic Lodge (1918) at 4847 Main Street, and two church buildings (1912, 1917) on Lemon Drive and School Street. , In the decades following its establishment in the early twentieth century, Old Town has grown and newer structures from the 1940s, 1950s and beyond have added to the eclectic charm and variety that the City of Yorba Linda now represents. Old Town lives on as a memory of the past and a vibrant part of the future.