Santa Ana is the county seat and most populous city in Orange County, California. Founded in 1869, Santa Ana is situated in Southern California on the Santa Ana River, 10 miles away from the California coast. The city is part of the Los Angeles – Long Beach – Santa Ana metropolitan area which, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, is the second largest metropolitan area in the U.S., with almost thirteen million people residing in the region.

History

Members of the Tongva and Juaneño/Luiseño nations long inhabited the area. After the 1769 excursion of Gaspar de Portolá out of Mexico City, then capitol of New Spain, Friar Junípero Serra named the area Vallejo de Santa Ana.

In 1848, after the Mexican-American war ended, Alta California became part of the United States and American settlers arrived in this area.

Claimed in 1869 by Kentuckian William H. Spurgeon on territory obtained from the descendents of Jose Antonio Yorba, Santa Ana was incorporated as a city in 1886 with a population of 2000 and in 1889 became the seat of the newly formed Orange County.

By 1906 the Pacific Electric Railway from Los Angeles was extended to Santa Ana, running along Fourth Street in the downtown area. The "red cars" made travel to Los Angeles easier and helped continue Santa Ana's population growth.