The city of Anaheim is a large city in Orange County, California covering 50 square miles. Its current population is approximately 343,973, making it the 10th largest city in California. Our community immersion focused primarily on the “Central District” as delineated by the city of Anaheim. Although designated by the city as “Central District” for neighborhood services and police patrol areas, the residents of the area did not seem to identify with a neighborhood name. As per the US Census (2005-2007), the population of the city is predominately Latino, with Asian and white being the next largest ethnic/racial groups. The community we walked in appeared to be consistent with the overall demographics of the city.
Anaheim was incorporated in 1876, with on 881 residents. The small town was predominately rural, with agriculture being the primary occupation. The main crop grown in the area was citrus trees. The city’s long history is embodied by two historic homes located in Central Anaheim, on the border of a neighborhood known as “the Colony”. The Mother Colony House, built in 1857, and the Woelke-Stoffel home, built in 1884, are both located along West Street. The Mother Colony House was built by George Hanson, known as the “Father of Anaheim”, as his home and office.
Downtown Anaheim and the Anaheim Historic Colony (“the Colony”) are bordered with North, South, East, and West streets. These streets were the original borders of the city. Main street names in Anaheim such as Walnut, Pine, Sycamore, Olive, Bush, Cypress, Water, and streets with flowers or trees named for the agricultural importance of the area. Some streets have specific meanings behind the names. There are several street names including Paulina, Emily, Whilhelmina, Emily, Adele, Claudina, Alberta, Helena, and Clementine, which are named after women who were important to the men who founded Anaheim, and who were important women in the planning process. As railroad transportation was very important back then, Topeka, Atchinson, and Santa Fe streets are named after the line that connected Anaheim with the rest of the country. Katella Avenue, one of the main roads that runs through Anaheim and many other cities in Orange County, is the combination names of the women who were instrumental in forming the Red Cross chapter of Anaheim, Kate, and the first chairperson of the library board, Ella Rae. Other notable streets in the greater Anaheim area include Pacifico Street, named for Don Pacifico Ontiveros who sold the land the Anaheim colony was built to George Hansen. Pacifico Street was renamed Gene Autry Way, after the man who brought professional sports to the area.As we walked in the community, we encountered two different murals that equally reflect the city of Anaheim. The first mural, a glass mural located on a Washington Mutual Bank building on Harbor Boulevard south of Lincoln, represents the history of Anaheim. The mural depicts George Hansen and other important figures in the early history of the city. Interesting to note, the mural includes Chinese immigrant workers working in the vineyards, reflecting Anaheim’s some of Anaheim’s earliest cultural diversity.
Another mural, located on Elm Street a few blocks south of downtown, is located on a small grocery store. The mural reads “Productos Latinos” and includes images of Latino culture. The mural reflects the current demographic of the city and cultural pride.
The neighborhood we walked in appeared to be a relatively safe neighborhood. Although there were some homes with security bars and doors, there were a number of homes that had been recently renovated which did not include any additional security features. There were few people loitering and it appeared that the majority of residents were at work. We even spotted a number of young women out running, which would indicate a safe environment. There was a considerabe amount of litter, but limited graffiti. The only graffiti we encountered was along Wilshire Avenue, which runs alongside of Interstate Highway 5.An additional testament to the long history of Anaheim is the Anaheim Cemetery, located at 1400 East Sycamore Street. It is the oldest public cemetery in Orange County. It was established in 1886 by the Los Angeles Vineyard Society and is home to the gravesites of the men who founded the city of Anaheim, including Petra Ontiveros Langenberger, whose family’s land was sold in order to establish the city. On the north east lawn, the Veteran’s section is the home to many soldiers who fought in the Civil war, World War I and World War II. Many of the gravestones have military symbols carved in near the individual’s name, including a symbol of three ovals linked together with the letters, “F” “L” and “T” in the center of each one.
This symbol comes from the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the letters stand for Friendship, Love, and Truth. For instance, Malcom G. Reynolds (1895-1992) is buried with his wife, Della M. Reynolds (1899-1973) and the symbol is engraved into the stone with the encryption, “US Army World War 1.” Other symbols include two “V” like symbols with a “G” in the center and a cross with a flower.Many of the graves have European surnames such as: Smith, Thomas, Williams, Waggs, Miller, Hass, Carrol, and Bersteen with dates starting in the early 1800’s. Many families decided to be buried near each other in family plots, and there are sections made up completely of single families. It is not uncommon to see multiple plots with repeated “MOTHER” and “FATHER” engraved into the stones. At some point, there was a noticeable change in the community and more Latino individuals began making Anaheim Cemetery their final resting place. As the main road leads towards the exit gates, many of the graves have names such as Cruz, Navarro, and Gonzalez written on them.
Sadly, there is an entire section of babies and young children of Latino decent born in Anaheim, such as Joe Chavez below, but who lived very short lives. The Anaheim Cemetery is the final resting place for the residents of Anaheim, and serves as a place of remembrance for the existing community.
