Best Heritage Museum Orange Near Me

4worldlovers:
Few communities are lucky enough to have a historical park devoted to local history, and fewer still are able to offer as much as Corona Heritage Park and Museum.


Beginning with the site itself, it is one of the most integral to the 20th Century development of the city of Corona. The Corona Foothill Lemon Company, which was established June 15, 1911, became the largest lemon ranch in all of California and one of the longest running. It was the reason in that time that Corona became well known as the “Lemon Capital of the World.” Corona Heritage Park & Museum is made up of the 5-acre heart of the 2,000 acres of lemon groves that once stood here.


The primary buildings have been preserved and are still standing. Three residential homes of the supervisor, manager and owner, built in the early 1900's, are now respectively a railroad museum, arts center and performing arts studio. The mule shed is now an thrift store and the barn has antiques shops. The storage buildings have become entomological laboratories for developing and producing beneficial insects. The packing sheds are filled with commercial artists-in-residence and art educators. What was once the 1934 company store is now the 10,000 sq. ft. Corona Heritage Museum, filled with curated local artifacts.


Corona Heritage Park and Museum is not only unique to Corona, it’s unique in its success as a 100% volunteer non-profit organization that doesn’t rely on your tax dollars. The Board of Directors and hundreds of supporters sustain the Corona Heritage Foundation in its thriving artistic, cultural development and daily operations of the park and museum, which receives approximately 30,000 visitors a year.


We’re proud of what people can accomplish when they decide to work together to provide something unique and spectacular for their region. The park is a community center for field trips, discovery and reflection, historic awareness, research and resources, horticulture and gardening, arts, studios and classes, programs for exercise and addictions, secular, religious and cultural events, weddings, receptions, community gatherings and a community leader in organic farming. Corona Heritage Park and Museum has become a one-of-a-kind facility that is unusual to come across, useful to so much of the community, respectfully protecting the history, and continuing towards ambitious goals for the future.

4worldlovers:
History nurtures personal and collective identity in a diverse world. History teaches vital critical thinking skills. History is the foundation for strong, vibrant communities.

We are dedicated to preserving the rich heritage of the Irvine Ranch, once one of the largest private ranches in the United States.


The information is from the files of the Irvine Historical Society, Judy Liebeck Gauntt, and Ellen Bell. Judy's research produced the book Irvine, A history of Innovation and Growth, Pioneer Publications Inc 1990, Library of Congress Catalog Card number 90-62011. Ellen Bell wrote the "Images of America IRVINE" published by Arcadia Publishing Company.

All through its history, people have shaped the transformation of Irvine. Whether it was the Native Americans, the flamboyant dons of the rancho era, or the determined members of a first-generation Irish American family, the fingerprints of former residents are everywhere. The street names tell the story — Portola, Culver, Michelson, Jeffrey, and Jamboree. Everywhere you look in the modern city of Irvine, there are markers from its past.

Irvine has always reaped the benefits of sound planning. James H. Irvine saw great potential in the land. In his 55 years as owner of the Irvine Ranch, the 100,000 acres landholding went from undeveloped grazing pastures to one of the premier agricultural producers in the world. It did not happen by accident. Irvine meticulously managed his ranch.