Olive
Through the Ages
8000 BC-800
AD | 1769-1869
| 1871-1891 | 1892-1957
| 1958-Present
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| 1871 |
The A.B. (Alfred
Beck) Chapman Canal is completed and further irrigates the area.
Ten miles long, eight feet wide at the top, four feet across at
the bottom, and two-and-a-half feet deep, the canal extends the
irrigation ditch the Yorbas created to bring water to their Olive
area property from the Santa Ana Canyon region.69
The ditch follows the natural contour of the land, and its path
can be traced today along Canal Street which winds behind The
Village at Orange—formerly known as the Mall of Orange,
built in 1971;7
under new ownership since 2002.19
Desiderio Burruel establishes an unofficial post office within
his general goods store. He sells stamps and picks up mail for
local residents from the post office in Anaheim. (Source: Tom
Pulley) |
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| 1876 |
March 10: Henry Watson
deeds land to James R. Toberman, which Toberman names "Olive
tract."65
June 6: Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors authorizes the
formation of the Olive School District.56
The Chapman Canal irrigation ditch is now 15 miles long and 10
feet wide on the bottom, having been blasted through solid rock.69
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| 1877 |
Olive Grammar School
begins operating16
a half mile south of Olive, out of a home on the site where Heim
Elementary School8
would open in 1963 at 16461 E. Heim Avenue52—designated
in 1971 as 901 E. Heim Avenue.54
Heim Elementary School (Kindergarden through the 6th grade) would
close at the end of the 1983-84 school year due to declining enrollment.20
Shortly thereafter, the school grounds would be purchased by St.
Paul's Lutheran Church down the street—at the southwestern
corner of Heim and Canal Street—and St. Paul's Lutheran School
(Kindergarden through the 8th grade) would begin operating at this
site.9
August 6: The Santa Ana Valley Irrigation Company (S.A.V.I.) incorporates
to provide water to farmers in the Olive area, Orange, Santa Ana,
and Tustin.7
The company owns the Chapman Canal which is now called the S.A.V.I.
canal.69 |
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| 1878 |
Olive is comprised of the
Barr and Wakefield Ranch (formerly the Olive Ranch) and F.G. Mitchell
Ranch.17
A few years later, "Burruel Point" would also become known
as "Olive Point,"9
a name that would be short lived. (NOTE: Burruel Point has been
identified on maps to this day as being situated to the east of
Santiago Boulevard, where the road runs north and south. This is
not the location referenced at this Web site.)
The S.A.V.I. canal to the two completed wooden tunnels is enlarged
to 10 feet wide at the bottom, 22 feet wide at the top, and four
feet deep.18
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| 1881 |
Merchant-miller Thomas Dillin,
his wife Hester, and sons Curtis, John, and William from Iowa arrive
in the Santa Ana Valley. The railroad brings farmers to the region.18 |
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| 1882 |
January 16: Tom and Curtis
Dillin are granted a lease by the S.A.V.I. Board of Directors on
water and power on five acres of land in Olive.8
They build a three-story flour mill beside the irrigation canal,
at what today is the northwestern edge of Eisenhower Park in Orange.18
The site of this flour mill—designated today as 1405 E. Lincoln
Avenue21—is
marked by a bronze plaque on a brick monument, erected by the Orange
North Rotary Club on February 3, 1976. During the 1880s, a reservoir
was created which Eisenhower Park visitors have always known as
the park's lake.22
November 4: The Dillin Mill (or Santa Ana Valley Roller Mill) begins
operating.18 |
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| 1883 |
January 31: German emigrant
Louis Schorn—a miller, tradesman, and farmer, whose wife is
the sister of Curtis Dillin's spouse—buys a half interest
in the Dillin Mill.18
The Dillin Mill is the principal industry in the Santa Ana Valley.
Wheat is brought in from Pomona, Spadra, Wilmington, and San Fernando.8
The title to Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana is confirmed in
favor of the Yorba family and their heirs. However, the successful
partitioning of the land had already taken place.16
May: The Olive tract map shows the tract is roughly bordered by
the following streets we recognize today: St. James Avenue and Lincoln
Avenue to the north, Orange-Olive Road and Northumberland Road to
the west, Heim Avenue and Cumberland Road to the south, and Tustin
Street to the east. (Source: Plat of the Olive Tract, courtesy Orange
County Archives) |
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| 1885 |
Olive's first post office
is founded (Source: Charles S. Knowlton, Post Offices of Orange
County, CA, Past and Present, 1947), though not housed in an
official building at this time.
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe (A.T. & S.F.) Railroad extends
its rails over the Cajon Pass into Southern California, thus beginning
the "Boom of the '80s" that would bring tourists and homeseekers
to Southern California.7 |
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| 1886 |
The Southern California land
boom hits the Santa Ana Valley. Many people come to the area to
purchase property, and to work and live.18 |
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| 1887 |
February 2: An official U.S.
post office opens in Olive.37
May: Thomas Dillin forms the Olive Milling, Land & Improvement
Company with Louis Schorn, C. Culvert, and Washington Martin (Source:
An Illustrated History of Southern California, Vol. 2, Chicago:
The Lewis Publishing Co., 1890). The company purchases and subdivides
the land west of the mill, constructing the Olive Heights tract.
The original tract includes the following avenues running north
and south: Railroad Street (now called Orange-Olive Road), Olive
Avenue, Magnolia Avenue, Orange Avenue, Palm Avenue, Ocean View
Avenue, and Mill Street (no longer exists); and the following streets
running east and west: Buena Vista Street, Main Street, Hope Street
(now called Lincoln Avenue), and Short Street (exists in part).18
The tract is named for the Olive school of 1876 and James R. Toberman's
Olive tract.8
At one time, Toberman owned most of the land between present-day
Olive and Katella Avenue.18
Pepper trees are planted on the heights. Many of these trees still
exist today.18
Around this time Schorn opens the Olive Heights Hotel on Main Street
at the southeastern side of Orange Avenue. The hotel is situated
just north of Hope (Lincoln). Olive also has a store and saloon
at this time. Antune's saloon (owned and operated by Miguel Antunez*)
is located on the southeastern corner of Hope (Lincoln) and Railroad
(Orange-Olive).18
A.T. & S.F. Railroad's chief engineer establishes a train depot
and water tank at Saint James (the Anglican name for Santiago),
an up and coming boomtown located a half mile south of Olive—St.
James Avenue is all that remains of this town today.18
The dimensions of the frame depot are 18 feet by 30 feet.39
In 1889, A.T. & S.F. Railroad would consolidate its branch lines
and form the Southern California Railway.46 |
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| 1888 |
Tom Dillin retires from his
position at the Olive Milling, Land & Improvement Company. Of
the Dillins, only Curtis remains at the Olive flour mill. The rest
of the family moves to Los Angeles.18
The great Southern California land boom ends.18
California State Gazeteer and Business Directory lists the following
businesses in Olive: saloon (M.C. Antunes); general store (N.T.
Bush); hotel (A.V. Howard); physician (A.H. Millar); Olive Milling
Land and Improvement Co., flour mill; saloon (Guardo Presciado);
physician (A.H. Rowan).66
August 2: Louis Schorn purchases lots in Olive Heights65
and soon builds a Victorian style home that still stands today on
the western corner of Bixby at 8571 Ocean View.
December 26: J.R. Toberman sells his land at Olive tract to R.B.
Taylor.65 |
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| 1889 |
September 16: Tom Dillin
passes away, and soon after Louis Schorn becomes president of the
Olive Milling, Land & Improvement Company.18
September 29: Fire destroys the Olive flour mill.18 |
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| 1890 |
April 8: The rebuilt
Olive flour mill opens at a new site with access to the railroad.
At the request of the Olive Milling Company, A.T. & S.F. runs
a spur track along Hope Street to the mill. The site of the new
mill is identified today at the southwestern edge of Eisenhower
Park, approximately where Lakeside Professional Building stood from
1972 until 2019.18
August: A.T. & S.F. relocates its depot from St. James to Olive.
The wooden depot—with hip roof and recessed western and southern
walls—is positioned to the east of the tracks on Railroad
Street, just north of Hope Street.18
June 30: Seventeen-year-old Cloromiro Antunez (son of Miguel Antunez,
owner of Antune's saloon) dies after being thrown from a horse on
a railroad bridge two miles north of Olive.57
October: The Olive flour mill is advertised as the most important
manufacturer in Orange County. Louis Schorn receives a nomination
from the Democrats for the position of Orange County Supervisor.
He is subsequently seated as the third district Supervisor.18
Mike Antunez, son of Miguel Antunez (owner of Antune's saloon),
is born.* |
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| 1891 |
The Bush general store is
located near the Olive Mill.18
September: Antune's saloon closes.18 |
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Information provided on 09/29/2006 by Joseph Antunez, great-great
grandson of Miguel Antunez and great grandson of Mike Antunez. |
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