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California Counties

The U.S. state of California is divided into fifty-eight counties.

On January 4, 1850, the California constitutional committee recommended the formation of 18 counties. They were Benicia, Butte, Fremont, Los Angeles, Mariposa, Monterey, Mount Diablo, Oro, Redding, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Jose, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Sonoma, and Sutter. On April 22, the counties of Branciforte, Calaveras, Coloma, Colusi, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Trinity, and Yuba were added. Benicia was renamed Solano, Coloma to El Dorado, Fremont to Yola, Mt. Diablo to Contra Costa, San Jose to Santa Clara, Oro to Tuolumne, and Redding to Shasta. One of the first state legislative acts regarding counties was to rename Branciforte County to Santa Cruz, Colusi to Colusa, and Yola to Yolo.

The last California county to have been established is Imperial County in 1907.

Orange County, California

Orange County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Santa Ana
Year Organized: 1889
Square Miles: 790

Court House:

10 Civic Center Plaza
Hall of Administration
Santa Ana, CA 92701-4017

Etymology - Origin of County Name

This county was given the name of Orange for its extensive orange groves.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Growth led the California legislature to divide Los Angeles County and create Orange County as a separate political entity on March 11, 1889. The county is generally said to have been named for the citrus fruit (its most famous product). However, in the new county there was already a town by the name of Orange, named for Orange County, Virginia, which itself took its name from William of Orange, a famous protestant King of Great Britain and Ireland. The fact the county took the same name as one of its towns may have been coincidence. However it is also possible that the county was named for this city (and thus indirectly for William of Orange, whose family name was itself derived from the French town of Orange named in ancient times in honour of a celtic water deity).

A TIMELINE OF ORANGE COUNTY HISTORY

From ORANGE COUNTY— THE GOLDEN PROMISE An Illustrated History by Pamela Hallan-Gibson

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,455 km² (948 sq mi), making it the smallest county in Southern California. Surface water accounts for 411 km² (159 sq mi) of the area, 16.73% of the total; 2,045 km² (789 sq mi) of it is land.

Orange County is bordered on the southwest by the Pacific Ocean, on the north by Los Angeles County, on the northeast by San Bernardino County, on the northeast by Riverside County, and on the southeast by San Diego County.

Neighboring Counties:

Northeast: San Bernardino County
East: Riverside County
Southeast: San Diego County
Southwest: North Pacific Ocean
Northwest: Los Angeles County

Cities and Towns:

- Aliso Viejo	city	Incorporated Area
- Anaheim	city	Incorporated Area
- Brea	city	Incorporated Area
- Buena Park	city	Incorporated Area
- Costa Mesa	city	Incorporated Area
- Cypress	city	Incorporated Area
- Dana Point	city	Incorporated Area
- Fountain Valley	city	Incorporated Area
- Fullerton	city	Incorporated Area
- Garden Grove	city	Incorporated Area
- Huntington Beach	city	Incorporated Area
- Irvine	city	Incorporated Area
- La Habra	city	Incorporated Area
- La Habra Heights	city	Incorporated Area
- La Palma	city	Incorporated Area
- Laguna Beach	city	Incorporated Area
- Laguna Hills	city	Incorporated Area
- Laguna Niguel	city	Incorporated Area
- Laguna Woods	city	Incorporated Area
- Lake Forest	city	Incorporated Area
- Los Alamitos	city	Incorporated Area
- Mission Viejo	city	Incorporated Area
- Newport Beach	city	Incorporated Area
- Orange	city	Incorporated Area
- Placentia	city	Incorporated Area
- Rancho Santa Margarita	city	Incorporated Area
- San Clemente	city	Incorporated Area
- San Juan Capistrano	city	Incorporated Area
- Santa Ana (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Seal Beach	city	Incorporated Area
- Stanton	city	Incorporated Area
- Tustin	city	Incorporated Area
- Villa Park	city	Incorporated Area
- Westminster	city	Incorporated Area
- Yorba Linda	city	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resource Guide

Counties: US Map

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."

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