San Juan Capistrano

Living in San Juan Capistrano means sharing an incredible history and tradition. Residents take pride in the rich history of previous generations of Native American Indians, Spanish, Rancheros and European Settlers that walked upon the land more than 200 years ago. Today, San Juan Capistrano is a historic cultural center full of art, music and great traditions. Restaurants are mainly family-owned and residents love to relax and enjoy meals together.

San Juan Capistrano is a historic train town situated around the Capistrano Depot which is just another way the city tends to bring its residents back in time. Residents of San Juan Capistrano enjoy a perfect climate with its beautiful valleys of blooming flowers nestled right next to the ocean. Residents enjoy endless community activities such as musical events, the annual Swallows Parade and traditional San Juan weddings all throughout the year.

Located approximately 23 miles (37 km) southeast of Downtown Santa Ana. The current OMB metropolitan designation for San Juan Capistrano and the Orange County Area is “Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA.” The population was 33,826 at the 2000 census. The city was created around Mission San Juan Capistrano, and many of the homes and strip malls resemble the Spanish architecture that compose the building. It is home to the widest variety of homes in Orange County, including those built prior to 1900 in its central district (some being adobes from the 18th century), a number of 10 million-dollar homes in the gated communities of the hills, and working ranches in its foothills. San Juan Capistrano is probably best known for the annual migration of the cliff swallows that reputedly migrate each year from Argentina to the Mission San Juan Capistrano.

Geography

San Juan Capistrano is located in south Orange County and is bisected by Interstate 5. 33°29′58″N 117°39′42″W / 33.49944°N 117.66167°W / 33.49944; -117.66167 (33.499493, -117.661614). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 14.3 square miles (37.1 km²). 14.2 square miles (36.8 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.4 km²) of it (0.98%) is water.

San Juan Capistrano is the site of a Catholic mission for which it is named, Mission San Juan Capistrano. When the Mission was founded in 1776, the region was populated by the Acjachemen band of Native Americans, called Juaneños by the Spanish. The mission was named after the Franciscan saint Giovanni da Capistrano (1386-1456).

The city is the site of California’s oldest residential neighborhood, Los Rios. It is also the home of the oldest in use building in California, the Serra Chapel in the Mission. The area was the site of both the first vineyard and first winery in California.

In the 1830s Richard Henry Dana, Jr., author of the classic Two Years Before the Mast visited the area as a sailor engaged in the hide trade on board the ship Pilgrim. Describing the locale, which then included what is now the neighboring city of Dana Point, he gushed, “San Juan is the only romantic spot in California.” The area was also the locale of the first Zorro novella, The Curse of Capistrano, published in 1919 (later renamed The Mark of Zorro after the success of the film of the same name).