Spider Map Page for Olive Through the Ages

Olive Through the Ages

Take a journey through the history of Olive, CA, from its early years before it was founded by Jose Antonio Yorba about 1810, up until present times.

Olive Through the Ages: Main Menu

The Main Menu provides links to the main sections of Olive Through the Ages.

Olive Through the Ages: Welcome to Olive, California

Welcome to Olive, California, an unincorporated community in Orange County, comprised of 61 single family residences nestled on a hill in the northern region of the city of Orange.

Olive Through the Ages: Tour

Take a tour of the Olive community by clicking/tapping the alphabet (A-J) for the section you wish to visit. Each section marks the structures located in that area, along with pertinent information.

Olive Through the Ages: Timeline

This is a timeline of the history of the community of Olive, California.

Olive Through the Ages: History

This page contains links to an historical narrative about Olive and the surrounding community.

Olive Through the Ages: References

This page lists references for the Olive Through the Ages site.

Olive Through the Ages

Olive Through the Ages is a site in progress, featuring material provided by contributors and revelations from new research.

Olive Through the Ages: Contents

This is the table of contents for Olive Through the Ages which is a site in progress, featuring material provided by contributors and revelations from new research.

Olive Through the Ages: About This Site & Acknowledgments

This section of Olive Through the Ages lists contributors and those who assisted in building this Web site.

Olive Through the Ages: In remembrance of historian and author Phil Brigandi

Remembering the late historian and author, Phil Brigandi, who was a friend and contributor to this website.

Olive Through the Ages: Comments

The Comments page at the Olive, California Web site includes a dedication, acknowledgments, and contact information.

Olive Through the Ages: Links

This page contains links to other historical Web sites about Orange County, California.

Olive Through the Ages: Historical Descriptions

This page includes historical descriptions of Olive across a span of 100 years.

Olive Through the Ages: Introduction to Olive - Maps and Images

This page includes links to historical maps and aerial photos of the Olive area from 1899 to present times.

Olive Through the Ages: Boundaries

This page includes recent research about the boundaries of Olive.

Olive Through the Ages: Citrus Industry - Crate Labels

The Crate Labels page of the Citrus Industry section of Olive Through the Ages features images of citrus crate labels largely provided by author and historian Gordon T. McClelland.

Olive Through the Ages: Citrus Industry - Packing Houses

In Olive there were five packing houses, only three of which appeared at the same point in time: Growers Fruit Company that was later bought out by Peppers Fruit Company and renamed Olive Fruit Company, Olive Hillside Groves, Olive Heights Citrus Association, and Lawrence Kokx.

Olive Through the Ages: Citrus Industry - Stories and Images

The Stories and Images page of the Citrus Industry section of Olive Through the Ages features material submitted by various contributors.

Olive Through the Ages: Story of Olive Hillside Groves Packing House, 1928

This page includes a photo essay of the 1928 Olive Hillside Groves packing house building today, and some recollections by Susan VerBurg, owner of Merlex Stucco, about the building when it was owned by her father.

Olive Through the Ages: Story of Olive Heights Citrus Association, 1915

This article from The California Citrograph describes The Olive Heights Citrus Association in 1915.

Olive Through the Ages: Story of Olive Heights Citrus Association, 1928

This description of the 1928 Olive Heights Citrus Association plant during the 1960s comes from Gordon McClelland, the image of the plant courtesy of John Signor.

Olive Through the Ages: Story of Lawrence Kokx

Lawrence Kokx was a gentleman rancher and a successful businessman who operated a packing house in Olive and also pursued a partnership in oil drilling.

Olive Through the Ages: Story of Lawrence Kokx Packing House, 1945

This page includes a photo essay with images of the 1945 Lawrence Kokx packing house building and site circa the late 1950s and in present times, and an historic newpaper article from a 1945 edition of Orange Daily News about the opening of the plant.

Olive Through the Ages: How My Citrus Label Collection Began

This page features a story written by Gordon McClelland that explains how he got his start collecting citrus crate labels.

Olive Through the Ages: Late Night Meetings at the Olive Heights Citrus Association

Gordon McClelland relates the story of his late night visits with the men at Olive Heights Citrus Association packing house.

Olive Through the Ages: Olive Residents

This page includes links to pages about Olive residents who made a difference in the community.

Olive Through the Ages: Citizens and Their Homes

This page includes links to directory listings, homes, past local residents, and images of historical homes in Olive Heights.

Olive Through the Ages: Charles Parkman Taft, Olive's Award-Winning Horticulturist

Charles Parkman Taft was Olive's award-winning horticulturist who originated many varieties of semi-tropical fruits, including the Taft Avocado, Champagne Loquat.

Olive Through the Ages: Louis Schorn, an Entrepreneur in Olive

Louis Schorn, one of Olive's entrepreneurs who arrived during the boomtown era of the 1880s, established the Olive Heights Hotel and co-owned and operated the Olive Milling Co.

Olive Through the Ages: The Dankers, Pioneer Ranchers in Olive

Barbara Oldewage writes about her family, the Dankers, who came to Olive in the early 1890s, and Ernest Danker shares memories of his youth in Olive.

Olive Through the Ages: Olive Garage

This page includes photos and stories about the Olive Garage.

Olive Through the Ages: First National Bank of Olive

This page includes photos and stories pertaining to the First National Bank of Olive.

Olive Through the Ages: Other Businesses in Olive

This page includes photos and stories pertaining to businesses in Olive such as the Olive Blacksmith Shop.

Olive Through the Ages: Brick Yard and Tile Company

This page includes links to photos and illustrations of the Mission Clay Products brick yard, also known as Padre Brick Company, and the Padre Tile Company.

Olive Through the Ages: Brick Yard and Tile Company Historic Aerial Maps

This page contains links to aerial map images of the Padre Tile Company and Mission Clay Products Company brick yard sites from 1926 to 1970, including commentary.

Olive Through the Ages: Brick Yard and Tile Company Then and Now Images

This page contains then and now images of Padre Tile Company and Mission Clay Products Company.

Olive Through the Ages: Brick Yard and Tile Company News and Articles

This page contains links to news and articles about Mission Clay Products Company.

Olive Through the Ages: Brick Yard and Tile Company Notes and Remembrances

This page contains remembrances of the Mission Clay Products Company brick yard in the 1960s by historian Gordon McClelland.

Olive Through the Ages: Olive Milling Company

This page features the story of the Olive Milling Company with links to images pertaining to the mill.

Olive Through the Ages: Olive Heights Hotel and Olive Motel

This page features the story of the Olive Heights Hotel and the Olive Motel that were built in Olive, with links to images pertaining to these operations.

Olive Through the Ages: Olive School and Civic Center

The school in Olive was originally built in 1878 near present day St. James Avenue and then relocated to its current site, where it has since been rebuilt two times.

Olive Through the Ages: Olive Station U.S. Post Office

Olive's post office was unofficially established in 1871, becoming official in 1887 when it became the Olive Station U.S. Post Office on the Santa Fe Railway. This post office, included on the U.S. Postal Service's 2009 list of post offices slated for closure, was spared from the chopping block in 2010.

Olive Through the Ages: Olive Volunteer Fire Department

The Olive Volunteer Fire Department was originally formed as a fire brigade after Olive Heights Citrus Association, Olive Hillside Groves, and Olive Fruit Co. packing house buildings burned down in 1927.

Olive Through the Ages: Churches

This section features four churches in Olive: two which no longer exist, and two which thrive in the City of Orange today.

Olive Through the Ages: Lincoln Avenue Baptist Church

Lincoln Avenue Baptist Church had its origins as Olive Mission founded by First Southern Baptist Church of Anaheim.

Olive Through the Ages: Olive Assembly Church and School

Olive Assembly Church and School thrived during the 1960s but disappeared by the early 2000s.

Olive Through the Ages: Presbyterian Church at Olive

One of Olive's first churches was the Presbyterian Church at Olive, established at the site of present day North Orange Christian Church.

Olive Through the Ages: St. Paul's Lutheran Church and School

St. Paul's Lutheran Church and School is the most successful of the four early church groups in the Olive area.

Olive Through the Ages: Santa Ana River at Olive - Taming of the Wild River

This page features information about the Santa Ana River at Olive and links to images.

Olive Through the Ages: Santa Ana River at Olive - Maps and Images

This page features links to maps and images of the Santa Ana River at Olive.

Olive Through the Ages: Citrus Industry

The Citrus Industry section contains links to the following sub-sections: Crate Labels, Packing Houses, and Stories and Images.

Olive Through the Ages: Commerce

The Commerce section contains links to the Brick Yard and Tile Company, Olive Heights Hotel and Olive Motel, and Olive Milling Company sub-sections.

Olive Through the Ages: Community

The Community section contains links to the Olive Churches, Olive Station U.S. Post Office, and Olive School and Civic Center sub-sections.

Olive Through the Ages: Introduction

The Introduction to Olive section contains links to the following sub-sections: Historical Descriptions, Maps and Images, and Boundaries.

Olive Through the Ages: Resident Directory and Biographies

The Resident Directory and Biographies section contains links to the following sub-sections: Directory Lists and Homes, and Olive Residents.

Olive Through the Ages: Olive Resident - Memories

This page includes links to pages about Olive residents who made a difference in shaping the community.

Olive Through the Ages: Olive Resident Memories - When surf music came to Olive

Gordon T. McClelland shares memories of his early years growing up in the Olive area, and what it was like to be a teenager in the mid-1960s.

Olive Through the Ages: Fletcher Avenue area in the early 1960s to mid-1970s

Gordon T. McClelland shares memories of growing up on the Fletcher side of the Olive area from the early 1960s through the mid-1960s.

Olive Through the Ages: Grove-ing adventures, about 1964

Gordon McClelland writes about his memories of grove-ing on the Fletcher side of the Olive area during the mid-1960s.

Olive Through the Ages: Santa Ana River at Olive

The Santa Ana River section contains links to the following sub-sections: Taming of the Wild River, and Maps and Images.

Olive Through the Ages: Timeline 1769-1869

This is the 1769 to 1869 section of the timeline on the history of the community of Olive, California. This period covers the ranchero days at Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana, and the founding of Santa Ana Viejo.

Olive Through the Ages: Timeline 8000 BC - 800 AD

This is the 8000 BC to 800 AD section of the timeline on the history of the community of Olive, California.

Olive Through the Ages: Timeline 1871-1891

This is the 1871 to 1891 section of the timeline on the history of the community of Olive, California. This section covers the boomtown days in the budding community, when the Olive flour mill was the largest grossing industry in Orange County.

Olive Through the Ages: Timeline 1892-1957

This is the 1892-1957 section of the timeline of the history of the community of Olive, California. This section covers the citrus growing era in Olive.

Olive Through the Ages: Timeline 1958-Present

This is the 1958-Present section of the timeline of the history of the community of Olive, California. This section covers recent times, when land was developed for housing units.