About Irvine

Archaeological evidence places prehistoric people in the Irvine area at least 12,000 years ago. The Gabrielino Indians — of the Shoshonean language group — established dozens of villages here roughly 2,000 years ago, living off an abundant supply of shellfish, waterfowl, and land animals. They were skilled basket weavers and craftspeople who built round, woven huts near what is now the San Joaquin marsh.

Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portolá entered the San Joaquin Valley in 1769, bringing missions and cattle ranching that transformed the region. Three large Spanish and Mexican land grants — Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana, Rancho San Joaquin, and Rancho Lomas de Santiago — eventually formed the land that would become the Irvine Ranch. After California's annexation to the United States in 1846, these ranchos changed hands through a tangle of titles, debts, and drought.

In 1864, James Irvine partnered with the Flint and Bixby families to purchase Rancho San Joaquin's 50,000 acres for just $18,000. By 1878, Irvine had bought out his partners for $150,000, assembling a 110,000-acre ranch stretching 23 miles from the Pacific Ocean to the Santa Ana River. After James Irvine's death in 1886, his son James Jr. incorporated the holdings as The Irvine Company in 1894 and shifted operations from sheep grazing to citrus and field crops.

By World War I, some 60,000 acres of lima beans were grown on the Irvine Ranch. During World War II, The Irvine Company sold land to the federal government for two Marine Corps air facilities — one of which would later become the Orange County Great Park. After the war, Myford Irvine began cautiously opening small sections of the ranch to urban development before his death in 1959.

In 1959, the University of California selected 1,000 acres of Irvine Ranch land for a new campus. Consulting architect William Pereira and Irvine Company planners drew up a master plan for a city of 50,000 surrounding the university — with industrial zones, residential villages, commercial centers, and greenbelts. The first villages of Turtle Rock, University Park, Culverdale, the Ranch, and Walnut were completed by 1970.

Residents of the new communities voted to incorporate a substantially larger city than Pereira's original plan envisioned — taking control of their own future and protecting the local tax base. The City of Irvine was officially incorporated on December 28, 1971, under the general laws of the State of California.

From a planned community of 50,000, Irvine has grown into one of the nation's top 75 most populous cities, with more than 300,000 residents across 66 square miles. It consistently ranks among America's safest cities, most educated workforces, and best places to raise a family. The city operates under a Council-Manager form of government and continues to invest in parks, open space, public safety, and world-class education.