Richard Egan manuscript maps of Orange County, circa 1878-1879

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Summary

Creators:
Egan, Richard
Abstract:
Four manuscript survey maps and one plat map depicting areas of Orange County and attributed to the noted surveyor and judge Richard Egan. One map is dated 1878 and 1879 by Egan. The other maps are undated and unsigned but it is likely that he drew them during these years. These maps primarily depict subdivisions of non-rancho tracts of land occupying what is now Orange County, with the addition of some topographical details.
Extent:
1 Linear Feet (1 box) and 5 digitized images
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

Richard Egan Manuscript Maps of Orange County. MS-R72. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Date accessed.

For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.

Background

Scope and content:

Four manuscript survey maps and one plat map depicting areas of Orange County and attributed to the noted surveyor and judge Richard Egan. One map is dated 1878 and 1879 by Egan. The other maps are undated and unsigned but it is likely that he drew them during these years. These maps primarily depict subdivisions of non-rancho tracts of land occupying what is now Orange County, with the addition of some topographical details.

Three maps depict non-rancho lands bordered by several ranchos, including one map with some geographical and man-made features in the western section of Boca de la Playa. One map illustrates the land occupying Rancho San Joaquin (including the present site of the University of California, Irvine). The plat map depicts the Mission at San Juan Capistrano.

Egan's signature can be found on the survey map of lands bordering Rancho Niguel. The other maps are drawn in the same, consistent hand. All maps are drawn on thin canvas. The lines are created entirely in black ink, with numbers in red and highlights in blue and red pencil.

Biographical / historical:

A surveyor and judge by trade, Egan was dubbed by the actress Helena Modjeska as the "King of Capistrano." He was a Los Angeles County supervisor from 1885 to 1889 and also served on a commission to develop the Orange County public highways. An Irish immigrant, he had arrived in San Francisco during the Gold Rush and eventually moved to San Juan Capistrano after amassing a sizeable fortune. He was active as a surveyor during much of the 1870s. Egan died in 1923.

For further biographical information, see Samuel Armor, History of Orange County California with biographical sketches (Los Angeles: Historic Record Company, 1921), 373-374. See also Pamela Hallan-Gibson, Two hundred years in San Juan Capistrano: a pictorial history (Norfolk, Va.: Donning Co., 1990).

Acquisition information:
Purchased and donated by the Friends of the UCI Libraries in 1995.
Processing information:

Processed by Adrian Turner in 2000.

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

Property rights reside with the University of California. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Head of Special Collections and Archives.

Preferred citation:

Richard Egan Manuscript Maps of Orange County. MS-R72. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Date accessed.

For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.

Location of this collection:
P.O. Box 19557
Irvine, CA , US
Contact:
(949) 824-3947
spcoll@uci.libanswers.com
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