A Turning Tide

A Turning Tide. . , The opening of the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro, forever changed The Irvine Ranch. From March 17, 1943 until the summer of 1999, the station trained military aviators to serve the nation in war and peace. , The progression from farming and ranching to residential and commercial development began in the early 1950s, but not before The Irvine Ranch was known as the largest producer of lima beans in the world - feeding U.S. troops during world war two. , In 1952, the Irvine Company chartered Irvine Boy Scout Troop 36. A year later, more than 50,000 Scouts from around the world came to The Irvine Ranch for the first National Boy Scout Jamboree held west of the Mississippi River. The Irvine Company built an eight-mile road connecting Troop 36's Scout House with the Jamboree's "Tent City." Jamboree Road remains today as a tribute to the historic event. , While the Irvine Company developed small residential neighborhoods along the coast, The Irvine Ranch continued its major ranching operations. It's easy to imagine the days of cattle and cowboys when you visit Irvine's Bommer Canyon, where the Irvine Company's cattle operation was based for more than half a century. , Images courtesy of UCI Special Collections and Archives (Edward W. Cochems Collection MS.R.016); National Museum of Naval Aviation; and the Irvine Company.