Orange County Heritage Coordinating Council

The First American Corporation traces its roots to 1889, when Orange County, California—a rural, undeveloped area at the time—split off from the county of Los Angeles. Two firms opened to handle title matters in the brand-new county. Five years later, C.E. Parker, a local businessman, succeeded in merging the two competitors into a single entity. He was named president of the resulting company—Orange County Title Company—the immediate predecessor to today’s First American Title Insurance Company, the largest subsidiary of The First American Corporation.

Don't miss out on the slide show presentation this Saturday, November 15th, at the Katie Wheeler branch lilbrary, featuring photographs from the Irvine Family Archive. Get more information...

Southern California history comes alive Saturday, October 25, 2008 at the 3rd Annual Los Angeles Archives Bazaar. Browse rare collections, consult with experts, learn about family genealogy, preserving your own history, and numerous other topics.
Archives Live! offers a wealth of resources for exploring Los Angeles history. Learn about Los Angeles history and join us October 25 at the USC-Davidson Conference Center!
VISITOR INFORMATION
USC DAVIDSON CONFERENCE CENTER
SATURDAY, OCT. 25, 2008
10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
 
http://www.usc.edu/libraries/archives/arc/lasubject/

The month of October has already been a busy one. The Santa Ana History Room has been present at the National History Day at NARA. It was a fantastic event, and it is always exciting to see high school youth excited about history.  As always our collection on Mendez v. Westminister was a talking point but some of our other collections were highlighted as well.  Recently, we were apart of the 11th Annual Cemetery Tour by the Santa Ana Historical Preservation Society, as usual it was a great success and they sold out every tour.  For now we are weathering the budget crisis and these tough economic times with everyone else. I am hopeful and I look forward to seeing a large turnout for this year's election on Nov.

Provide the citizens of Santa Ana with information about the history of the City, County, and State in which they live, and encourage the interest of the City’s youth in that history.
 
Hours:

Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays

Tucked amid the media attention of the Beijing Olympics, the National Archives announced this week the declassification of documents that revealed additional information about the OSS (Office of Strategic Services) -- forerunner of the CIA -- during World War II.  Much to the general public's amazement, Julia Child, among others, was exposed as a spy for the United States. 
 
The Center for Oral and Public History (COPH) maintains a collection of nineteen oral histories conducted with former members of the OSS, including an interview with JULIA CHILD, about their recruitment, wartime experiences, and life as a member of this one-time secret government agency.