Gates of Anaheim facts for kids
Quick facts for kids North Gate of City of Anaheim |
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Anaheim in 1879
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| Location | Anaheim, California |
| Built | 1857 |
| Designated | March 29, 1933 |
| Reference no. | 112 |
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The Gates of Anaheim are special entrances in California that show where the historic city of Anaheim, California began. Four main gates were built: North, East, South, and West. These gates were recognized as a California Historical Landmark (No. 122) on March 29, 1933.
Today, a historic marker stands at 777 South Anaheim Boulevard. This marker helps us remember when Anaheim was founded in 1857 and where one of the city's gates once stood. The first people who settled in Anaheim built a fence around their town. This fence was made to keep out wild cattle that roamed nearby. The North gate was the most used because it led to the City of Los Angeles.
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Anaheim's First House: The Pioneer House of the Mother Colony
| Pioneer House of the Mother Colony | |
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Pioneer House of the Mother Colony Marker
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| Location | Anaheim, California |
| Built | 1857 |
| Architect | George Hanson |
| Architectural style(s) | American Territorial style cottage |
| Designated | June 20, 1935 |
| Reference no. | 201 |
The Pioneer House of the Mother Colony, also known as Anaheim's first house, became a California Historic Landmark (No. 102) on June 20, 1935. This house was originally built in 1857 by George Hanson, who founded the colony. It was moved to its current spot at 414 North West Street in Anaheim in 1929.
Who Were the Mother Colony?
The "Mother Colony" was a group of German-Americans who left San Francisco in 1857. They came to Southern California to start farms and grow grapes. Soon, their vineyards became the biggest in California! However, a plant disease destroyed the grapevines in 1885. After that, the colony started growing Valencia oranges instead.
Famous people like actress Helena Modjeska and author Henryk Sienkiewicz (who wrote Quo Vadis) were connected to the Mother Colony.
The House as a Museum
In 1929, the Mother Colony Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution took over the house. Since then, it has been an Orange County museum. The City of Anaheim bought the house in 1950. Since 1962, the Anaheim Public Library has managed it. Next to the Mother Colony house is the historic John Woelke House. The Modjeska House is also a California Historical Landmark.
George Hansen: The Founder of Anaheim
George Hansen is known as the "Father of Anaheim." He was a surveyor and a civil engineer. Hansen was born in Fiume, Austria, in 1824. He left Austria in 1850 and traveled to California by sailing around Cape Horn and through Peru. He arrived in Los Angeles in 1853.
He borrowed $100 to buy surveying tools. In 1853 and 1854, his first job was to survey a large part of Los Angeles County. Later, in 1868, he led a company that built a dam at Echo Park. This dam provided drinking water to homes in the Los Angeles hills. He then moved to Orange County and designed the city of Anaheim. He was the head of the Los Angeles Vineyard Company. George Hansen passed away on November 10, 1897. He never married, and his property went to his adopted son and work partner, Alfred S. Solano. Hansen was very smart and could speak his native German, as well as French, English, and Spanish.
Anaheim Founders' Park: A Glimpse into the Past
Founders' Park is home to the Pioneer House of the Mother Colony and the John Woelke House. The park also has other historic features, including a large Moreton Bay Fig tree from 1876. You can also see a big Carriage House built in the Queen Anne style, a vegetable garden, a small orange grove, a pump house, and a windmill. These landmarks are kept just as they were to show what life was like in the 1880s.
Historic Markers: Telling Anaheim's Story
Historic markers are signs that tell us about important places and events.
North Gate Marker
The North Gate marker at 777 South Anaheim Boulevard says, "Anaheim Founded 1857, Location of North Gate" (Marker Number 112).
The official records for the North Gate marker explain: "A wall or fence of willow poles that took root and grew was planted around the Anaheim Colony to keep out the herds of wild cattle that roamed the surrounding country. Gates were erected at the north, east, south, and west ends of the two principal streets of the colony. The north gate, on the highway to Los Angeles, was the main entrance to the city. "
Pioneer House of the Mother Colony Marker
The marker for the Pioneer House of the Mother Colony reads:
- First house built in Anaheim, 1857, by George Hanson, founder "The Mother Colony", group selecting name given settlement. This German group left San Francisco to form grape growing colony. Southern California Vineyards became largest in California until destroyed, 1885, by grape disease. Colony started producing Valencia oranges. Here once resided Madame Helena Modjeska, and Henry Sienkiewicz, author of "Quo Vadis". This marker was put up in 1950 by the California Centennials Commission with help from local groups (Marker Number 201).
Another marker about The Mother Colony says: "This house was built in 1857 by Mr. Geo. Hansen the promoter of that little colony of Germans who founded what is now the City of Anaheim, and originally stood on N. Los Angeles Street between Chartres & Cypress Streets. The building was a gift from Mr. E.E. Beazley and the lot on which it now stands was donated by Marie Horstmann Dwyer in memory of her parents who were pioneers and purchased the land October 1st, 1860. That the pioneers of Anaheim and what they did for us shall not be forgotten this house is preserved by the Mother Colony Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution. "
