A Historical Walk-Through of Orange County

Orange County has a rich heritage for locals and tourists to discover. The 133-year-old county is home to 41 cities, six of which compose the county’s coastline. One of those six cities is San Clemente, nicknamed the “Spanish Village by The Sea.” Founded on Feb. 27, 1928, after a few years of development by Ole Hanson, an American politician. Along with designer Carl Lindbom, Hanson built a magnificent Spanish-style estate for his family in 1927 on a bluff in San Clemente overlooking the pier. He then developed the rest of the city to resemble his property. Lambert and Patricia Schuyler bought the house for $30,000 in 1946 and named the location Casa Romantica. Today it serves as a landmark in San Clemente and was added to the National Registry of Historic Places in 1991. “When it was first built, it was the Hanson family home,” said Kylie Travis, program and marketing director for Casa Romantica. “They, unfortunately, lost the home in the great depression, and the house went through many owners. After years of deliberations about the proposed usage of the estate, an anonymous donor gifted $1 million to the city of San Clemente with the condition that Casa Romantica would be renovated...