OC Stories celebrates Orange County's rich cultural diversity by documenting its historical events, people, businesses, and institutions over the past 100+ years (late 1800s to present).
OC Stories was supported in whole or in part by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administrated in California by the State Librarian.
Collections
Featured Collections
Indigenous Voices of San Juan Capistrano
Stories from Orange County’s indigenous Acjachemen (Juaneño) Community.
Little Saigon Stories seeks to preserve the experiences of Orange County’s Vietnamese-American community.
Community Partners
Many OC Stories images are not owned by OC Public Libraries but are contributed to the collection by individuals and organizations who wish to share our community’s heritage with the public. Each image’s owner is noted as “contributor.” For additional information about particular images, please contact the contributor directly. If a contributor does not appear on this list, please contact OC Stories ocstories@occr.ocgov.com for assistance.
Share your Orange County images
Because YOUR story is OUR story.
OCPL Timeline
Through its first 100 years, OC Public Libraries has seen many milestones highlighting the library’s commitment to Orange County residents. On August 1, 1921, County Librarian Margaret Livingston began administering the “Orange County Free Library” from a rented room at 508 N. Main Street in Santa Ana. By the end of that year, eight of the system’s “pioneer branches” (branches still operating today) were established in Brea, Costa Mesa (then called Harper-Fairview), Garden Grove, Laguna Beach, La Habra, Seal Beach, San Juan Capistrano, and Westminster.
To learn more about OC Public Libraries history, check out our timeline created by the staff of OC Stories.