Arley Leck married Alice Forster, great-granddaugter of Don Juan Forster, in 1917. Alice's parents Frank & Ada Forester owned much of the ranch land in the area. In 1918 the Forsters built a house on a hill overlooking the Ortega Highway across from . . . — — Map (db m188935) HM
Built in 1840 by Juan Avila as a 10 room adobe. It was destroyed by fire in 1879 and only partially rebuilt. The present restoration done in 1992 is about one-third the size of the original. — — Map (db m188917) HM
May date back to 1794. It was part of two buildings known as Hacienda Aguilar. This adobe is associated with Don Blas Aguilar, the last Alcalde (Mayor) of the Mexican period. — — Map (db m51943) HM
Built in 1894, renovated in 1974-75 as a restaurant. The original Mission style, one of the first stations to use it, was retained. The interior is so small freight and passenger cars were added, and the exterior of the platform enclosed in glass to . . . — — Map (db m149785) HM
The Forster family moved to San Juan Capistrano in 1844 when English man John Forster bought the San Juan Mission and the surrounding area at auction from Pio Pico, the last of the Mexican Governors of California. Forster, then known as Don Juan . . . — — Map (db m188910) HM
Built in 1878 in Forester City (near San Onofre). Moved to San Juan Capistrano in 1882, it has served as a general store, post office and residence. — — Map (db m148409) HM
This 1830 structure is typical of San Juan Capistrano adobes of this period; thick walls and a wood shingle roof. The house was purchased by Domingo Oyharzabal in 1880 and occupied by his family for over 100 years. — — Map (db m51939) HM
As Governor of Baja California Portola was the military leader of the Spanish expedition into Alta California, which camped near the future site of the Mission on July 23, 1769. — — Map (db m199165) HM
Yorba was one of the 66 Catalonian volunteer soldiers in the Spanish expedition, and later built the Miguel Yorba and Domingo Yorba Adobes. — — Map (db m199166) HM
Avila, "El Rico," was the original grantee of Rancho Niguel, owner of the Avila Adobe, and a first trustee for the San Juan Elementary School District in the 1850's. — — Map (db m199167) HM
Forster bought Mission San Juan Capistrano at public auction in 1844 and later owned 260,000 acres in Orange and San Diego Counties. — — Map (db m199169) HM
Neo-Victorian, built in 1883 by Richard Egan, surveyor, school trustee and justice of the peace. Rebuilt in 1898 after a fire. Known as "Harmony Hall", it served as Judge Egan's home, office and courtroom until his death in 1923. — — Map (db m51940) HM
While reading this plaque, you are facing the historic El Camino Real, also known as "the King's Highway or "The Royal Road".
Originating in 1769, the trail got its name from the Spanish monarch who directed the establishment of a chain of . . . — — Map (db m188641) HM
This El Camino Real bell was gifted by Marianne and Ray Miller. The bell signifies the importance of Mission San Juan Capistrano's place on the El Camino Real. These bells are found throughout the state as a result of an early 20th Century . . . — — Map (db m188642) HM
Esslinger building was constructed in 1939 by Dr. Paul Esslinger after he was inspired by a 1937 trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina. The medical building was constructed using poured-in-place concrete and is one of the best examples of Streamline . . . — — Map (db m159729) HM
A Spanish soldier station at San Juan Capistrano in the late 1700s. He was awarded a land grant in the San Juan Capistrano Area which remained in his family for 10 generations. — — Map (db m199168) HM
For Many years the Mission has been the focal point of Capistrano Valley. During the 1800's the Mission was active in it's religious and agricultural endeavors; it also maintained large herds of cattle and developed an industry of hide-curing. The . . . — — Map (db m197258) HM
The Franciscan Plaza, built in 1990, occupies a site with a long and colorful history. Beginning in the early 1800's, adobe brick homes housing notable community founders were built on these site, facing a public plaza that extended south from . . . — — Map (db m189488) HM
This monument honors Frederica and Wilhelm Stroschein. In 1887, they settled on this land and established orange groves. They and other growers in the valley provided oranges for distribution around the nation. — — Map (db m188645) HM
Built in the 1840's by Manuel Garcia, it originally had a second story over only half of the ground floor. In 1880 the remaining space was covered by a second floor and a balcony was added. It was a post office in the 1870's, a hotel from 1880 to . . . — — Map (db m149789) HM
Historic Town Center Park
Today the San Juan Capistrano down town and Mission San Juan Capistrano are situated on the site of the Juaneño village of Acjachema. History explains that in 1769 the first Spanish exploratory expedition, led . . . — — Map (db m51947) HM
Our historic farmhouse was built in 1878 and it is the oldest wooden structure in San Juan Capistrano. It used to belong to Pony Express Rider, Joel Congdon, who grew Orange County's first walnut grove. Surviving more than 130 years of social, . . . — — Map (db m197236) HM
In 1776, Father Junipero Serra founded Mission San Juan Capistrano. The land upon which Plaza Del Obispo is built was used by the mission to grow fruits and vegetables. In the 1800s, under private ownership, walnut trees were planted here. In the . . . — — Map (db m188547) HM
This valley of San Juan Capistrano is the home of the First People known as Acjachemen (Ah-hah-sha-men). The Acjachemen language has been classified by linguists as a member of the Taki branch of the Uto-Aztecan family of languages. Many autonomous . . . — — Map (db m197234) HM
Jose Dolores Garcia was a prominent citizen of San Juan Capistrano who was
of Juaneno Indian and Spanish descent. In 1862, he married Maria Refugia Yorba
at the Mission. He promised her a new and unique house. After extensive research on horseback . . . — — Map (db m188929) HM
Ortega was the scout who blazed the trails for the 1769 Spanish expedition from San Diego to Sonoma, and discovered San Francisco Bay. — — Map (db m199145) HM
Egan House was constructed in 1883 by Judge Richard Egan. Also known as “Harmony Hall”, the story-and-a-half Renaissance Revival building served as the town courthouse, as well as Judge Egan’s private residence on the upper story. The upper floor . . . — — Map (db m159731) HM
The Judge Richard Egan House was built in 1883 for one of San Juan Capistrano' most prominent citizens. Judge Egan was born in Waterford County, Ireland, in 1842, educated in New York and arrived in California in about 1866 following a trip to . . . — — Map (db m204133) HM
This historic farm acquired by the City Council of San Juan Capistrano, in cooperation with the Community Redevelopment Agency, through proceeds of the Open Space Bond Issue, approved by the citizens in April, 1990.
The Joel Congdon House, . . . — — Map (db m197235) HM
This area was
inhabited by the
Acjachemen Nation
Native Americans
before nearby Mission
San Juan Capistrano
was established.
Los Rios Street is the
oldest continually
occupied residential
neighborhood
in California.
There are 31 . . . — — Map (db m169565) HM
Like much of San Juan Capistrano, the Los Rios Street Historic District and surrounding area was home to Native Americans of the Nation before San Juan Capistrano was established in 1776. The first adobe home for Mission neophytes and soldiers were . . . — — Map (db m188923) HM
Built in the 1840's by Manuel Garcia, a Portuguese merchant, this is the only surviving Monterey style adobe in Orange County. Owned by the Oyharzabal family since 1880, its uses have included: French Hotel, a general store and the town's first . . . — — Map (db m50007) HM
The two furnaces at this site, circa 1790's, are the oldest existing metalworking structures in California. They were used for the production of wrought iron, thereby introducing the natives living here to the Metal Age. Previously, only skills in . . . — — Map (db m195045) HM
In the Tradition of the bells first brought to the Mission Basilica and the Valley of San Juan Capistrano in 1775; these eight bells were cast in 1984 (across the Sea) at the Petit and Fristen Foundry in Holland.
Donated by
ARTHUR AND GAYE . . . — — Map (db m195063) HM
The cobble foundation is a replica of the original wall foundation which surrounded the gardens and orchard of the Mission San Juan Capistrano. A portion of the foundation has been preserved beneath this replica. The garden and orchard where . . . — — Map (db m188921) HM
"Jewel of the Missions" founded on November 1, 1776 by father Junipero Serra, most renown and most beautiful of the California Missions, Quaint little Serra Chapel is California's oldest building still in use. The magnificent ruins of the Great . . . — — Map (db m149788) HM
Mission San Juan Capistrano was founded in 1776 by Saint
Serra. As the seventh of the 21 California missions, and the
only mission in Orange County, it hosts the State's most
historically significant chapel, Serra Chapel (1782) and the
ruins of . . . — — Map (db m148351) HM
The site before you and the surrounding areas have been utilized by the Juaneno Indians (Original inhabitants of the Capistrano Valley). Mission San Juan Capistrano, and residents of this community in a variety of capacities over the years. . . . — — Map (db m188549) HM
Constructed in 1794 as one of forty adobes built to house mission Indians. Named for Polonia Montanez, a nineteenth century resident. Owned by Mr. and Mrs. Forrest Dunivin. Preserved by San Juan Capistrano Historical Society. Restored in 1981 by . . . — — Map (db m148348) HM
This building façade was built in 1938 by Nick and Canuta Arbonies as a home and restaurant which replaced an earlier building that was the first train stationmaster's house and office. The Arbonies were both born in the Basque Navarra region of . . . — — Map (db m188647) HM
Situated on this hill, located between the two rivers of the Capistrano Valley, is this sacred and consecrated ground. From this hilltop, the ocean, Mission, and town can be seen. It is a perfect resting place for San Juan Capistrano's historic . . . — — Map (db m199141) HM
Built in the 1880's, this Victorian house was one of the town's first wooden buildings. It was moved from its original location across the tracks and about a block south. The building was restored in 1979. — — Map (db m149786) HM
Situated below this hill, directly below the hotel, is the Pablo Pryor Adobe-Hide House. Built perhaps as early as 1790, it is possibly the oldest standing adobe in California. During the Rancho period, it was used for storing cattle hide from the . . . — — Map (db m189449) HM
Built in 1920 for Mr. and Mrs. Carl A. Romer. The building represents the Italianate style common to the commercial buildings in the early twentieth century. The Romer's operated a general merchandize store and post office. — — Map (db m188919) HM
Dick O'Neill 'Uncle Richard' to family and friends contributed significantly to the life of Capistrano Valley. A sixth generation 'Californio', he was an owner
of Rancho Mission Viejo and of the vast Rancho Santa Margarita y Flores, the 'great . . . — — Map (db m188927) HM
Built in 1794 for Feliciano Rios, a
Spanish soldier based at the San Juan
Capistrano Mission, it is the oldest
home continuously occupied by one
family in the state of California. — — Map (db m148345) HM
This jail cell was built in 1896 to serve as a holding cell for miscreants on their way to County jail. Originally located on the west side of Camino Capistrano at the intersection with Ortega Highway, it was the scene of several jailbreaks and one . . . — — Map (db m137613) HM
Founded in 1776 by Padre Junipero Serra. The seventeenth in the chain of twenty-one missions established in Alta California to Christianize and civilize the Indians. Stone church destroyed in 1812 earthquake. Expropriated during Mexican rule. . . . — — Map (db m50226) HM
Opened in 1983, designed by Michael Graves. It has been said that this building "Speaks the traditional language of the place without using all the same words." — — Map (db m188912) HM
The San Juan Elementary School, established in 1850 in what was then Los Angeles County, is the oldest school site in Orange County. This 2.5 acre plot was originally Mission San Juan Capistrano property, and was gifted by Don Juan Forster who owed . . . — — Map (db m188643) HM
San Juan Hot Springs Dance Hall originally built in 1896. Renovated by The City of San Juan Capistrano to be used as the first city recreation building. Dedicated November 15, 1978. — — Map (db m188938)
Sergeant Jose Francisco Ortega was the chief Scout for the Gaspar de Portola exploratory expedition in 1769. While exploring a route for Portola on their way to Monterey Bay, he was the first non-Native American to discover Capistrano Valley. Nearby . . . — — Map (db m188649) HM
Built in the 1790's, this is a typical example of the dozen or more one-room adobes in the Los Rios District. San Juan Capistrano was the first Mission to allow workers to live outside Mission grounds — — Map (db m188931) HM
Antonio Valenzuela, early pioneer of the town of San Juan Capistrano, built the adobe in the early 1840s, probably on the ruins of a mission Indian adobe dating to the 1790s. Later Valenzuela family members worked as local cowboys or vaqueros. The . . . — — Map (db m149787) HM
Starting in the mid 19th century, the population of the San Juan Capistrano Valley grew as people from around the United States and greater world settled here. — — Map (db m188702) HM
In the spring of 1974, two brothers, Pete and Jim Yyson,
from Newport Beach, California, negotiated a land
lease with the Santa Fe land and improvement company
on this site.
The original depot was built circa 1894-1895, the 1905
freight . . . — — Map (db m232716) HM
Va. Jhs Ma. Jph
The Mission of San Juan Capistrano which is about to be established in the valley of the same name or in its vicinity between the Missions of San Diego & San Gabriel of the Earthquakes, about twenty leagues from both & too from . . . — — Map (db m148353) HM
The original building on this property, commonly known as the Villa, was a board and batten house built by the Yorba family circa 1918. building was used to house itinerant farm workers from the nearby orchards and fields. In 1966 the building was . . . — — Map (db m195062) HM
In memory of Thomas Anthony 'Tony' Forster, El Presidente of the San Juan Capistrano Historical Society from 1991 to 2007. It was through his vision that these grounds were dedicated to the development of four houses to reflect the various . . . — — Map (db m188925) HM
The first inhabitants of San Juan Capistrano were the Acjachemen. These Native Americans lived in what we know today as Orange County. Some of the tribe's descendants work here at Zoomars.
In 1776, the Historic District was part of the . . . — — Map (db m188924) HM
The Los Rios Historic District was placed on the National Register of Historic Places April 4, 1983. This District includes 31 historic structures which line both sides of the street from Del Obispo to Mission Street. The District's registered . . . — — Map (db m149784) HM
