Pioneer Ranch Life in Orange: A Victorian Woman in Southern California

by Mary Teegarden Clark, Paul F. Clark (Editor)

Overview

This previously unpublished account of early California ranch life from 1875 to 1887 covers a pivotal era in Orange County history. Vassar-educated Mary Teegarden Clark captured the future Orange County during its transition from the untamed cattle rancho era to citrus empire. Mary writes engagingly about breaking ground for the citrus Yale Grove in the city of Orange, her home life with husband Albert B. Clark and workaday ranch chores with Chinese and Latino farmhands. Her firsthand accounts enlarge the historical record of citrus marketing, wilderness excursions and the escapades of Wild West pistoleros. Through deft editing, Paul F. Clark, Mary's great-grandson, provides the historical framework through which to view Mary's remarkably vivid experiences.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626190740
Publisher:	History Press, The
Publication date:	05/14/2013
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Paul F. Clark was the supervising or principal planner for the Riverside County Planning Department from 1983 to 2009, and managed the field office in Indio, California. He is a life member and past president of the Orange Community Historical Society, and a member of and journal contributor to the Orange County Historical Society. Mary Teegarden Clark was a Vassar College-educated wife and mother who journeyed from her Indiana home with her husband and infant to start a new life on a ranch in what became Orange County, California.

Table of Contents

Editor's Preface 9

Introduction 15

1 The Journey 43

2 The First Christmas 47

3 Homemaking 53

4 Development of Water 57

5 Irrigation 61

6 The Massacre of the Innocents 65

7 May Day in Orange County Park 71

8 The Visit of the Gipsies 75

9 Camping Out 81

10 The Marketing of a Crop 87

11 The Raid of the Bandits 93

12 Glimpses of the Old Home 97

13 Changes 101

14 Recompense 105

15 A Trip to the Yosemite 111

16 The Flight of the Duchess 115

17 The Fulfillment 121

Appendix A Mary Clark Reads a Brief History of Early Orange 125

Appendix B Mary Clark Tells of Her Family Life and Father in Indiana 133

Notes 141

Index 179

About the Editor 187