Riverstreet Trade

Riverstreet Trade. . , For centuries the Acjechemen, Missionaries, and early settlers used River Street as the path down to the Pacific Ocean. , River Street was originally a path used by the Indigenous people of the area to reach Trabuco Creek. The Creek was one of the main sources for water in the area. River Street is shown on maps from the late 1800's crossing Trabuco Creek and extending about four miles to the Ocean ending in Dana Point. , The thoroughfare was used by sheep herders to drive sheep to the area off Alipaz, which is across the creek, where shearing took place. At one time there was a bridge across Trabuco Creek where River Street ends today. It was known as the McKinley Bridge, named for the one time co-owner of the Mission along with Don Juan Forster. The bridge was washed away in a flood and never rebuilt. , In 1948 it was abandoned as a street. It is unknown when the street was first paved. Now the street is 25 feet wide and 600 feet long. It runs from Los Rios Street to the west terminating at Paseo Adelanto. It is part of the area placed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1983 by local historian Ilse Byrnes. It is a private street owned by the property owners facing the street.