Yorba Linda and it's History

"Land of Gracious Living"

In 1888, a group of promoters attempted to found the town of Carlton on 400 acres in what is now northern Yorba Linda. They advertised nationwide, hoping to lure entrepreneurs seeking land near a railroad and a water supply for agriculture. Not one knows exactly how many people gambled on the new township, but one thing is sure: It didn't last long. When the water turned brackish and the railroad lines were not built. People fled. Some reports had the town deserted by 1896. Some people lost all they had.

So instead of a center of agriculture and industry called Carlton, the area that became Yorba Linda grew as a peaceful area for families - families such as the first landholders, the Yorbas, and those moving to the city today.

The land on which the city sprung originally belonged to Bernardo Yorba who was granted the land by the Mexican government in the 1830s. Yorba was a farmer who worked the land and raised his 20 children in the area.

The land eventually passed on to other family members, and Porfirio Yorba sold it in 1907. After changing hands another three times, the Yorba land turned over to the Janss Investment Co. of Los Angeles, which completed plans for development in 1909. The original town was smaller than today; much of the eastern portion of Yorba Linda has been annexed through the years.

The Janss Co. developed Yorba Linda as a family community. Indeed, every property deed contained a condition prohibiting owners from selling alcoholic beverages on the property. If they did, the land would revert to the Janss Co. That rule remained until a 1933 US constitutional amendment repealed Prohibition.

Early residents came to Yorba Linda with the purpose of having a small farm. These families came between 1910 and 1920 and included such well known names as the Corbitts, the Quigleys, the Marshburns, and the Truebloods. These early families constructed numerous ranch houses, planted groves and Yorba Linda began as a community of hard working citizens.

In 1912, the construction of the Pacific Electric Railroad line between Yorba Linda and Los Angeles established an important transportation link. Two packing houses were built adjacent to the railroad station and the center of the community had begun.

Two neighborhoods developed near the depot, a small bungalow neighborhood just south of the depot and another neighborhood just north of the depot, which was a mixture of commercial and residential buildings. Both neighborhoods were the home of merchants, packing house employees and an occasional oil worker.

Most of the houses in these neighborhoods are Craftsman style residences, a style which was popular between 1910 and 1920. During the twenties, Yorba Linda continued to grow and prosper while agriculture remained the mainstay of the local economy. Several new commercial structures were built on Main Street, but the overall character of the town remained unchanged.

One of the early families in Yorba Linda was the Nixons. Frank and Hannah Nixon and their son, Harold, settled in a Yorba Linda Boulevard home in 1912. On Jan. 9, 1913, their second son, Richard, was born. The Yorba Linda Boulevard home is marked by a sign in tribute to Richard M. Nixon, the 37th US president.

Yorba Linda has had a development boom since residents voted to incorporate as Orange County's 25th city in 1967.