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After the 1769 expedition of Gaspar de Portolá out of Mexico City, then capitol of New Spain ,Friar Junípero Serra named the area Vallejo de Santa Ana.
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Mission san Juan Capistrano was established within this valley. This Santa Ana Valley comprised most of what is now called Orange County.
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Jose Antonio Yorba a sergeant of the spanish army , was granted land that he called Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana.Yarba´s rancho included the lands where the cities of Olive,Orange,Irvine,Yorba,Linda,Villa Park Santa Ana,Tustin,Costa Mesa and unincorporated El Modena ,and Santa Ana Heights, are today.This rancho was he only land grant in Orange County granted under Spanish Rule. Surrounding lands grant in Orange County were granted after Mexican Independence by the new government.
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After th Mexican-American war ended in 1848, Alta California became part of the U:S and American settlers arrived in this area.
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Claimed by Kentuckian William H: Spurgeon on land obtained from the deescendents of Jose Antonio Yorba.
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Santa Ana was incorporated as a city in 1886 with a population of 2000 and in 1889 became the seat of the newly formed Orange County.
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By 1906 the Pacific Electric Railway from LA was extended to Santa Ana, running the Fourth Street downtown. The "red cars" mode travel to LA easier and helped continue Santa Ana´s population boom.
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Santa Ana was the home of the original Glenn L.Martin aviation company founded in 1912 before merging with the Wright Company in 1916. Later Glenn Luther Martin created a second company of the same name in Cleveland, Ohio which eventually merged with the Lockheed Corporation to form the largest defense contractor in the world , Lockheed Martin.
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During the world war 2 , the Santa Ana Army Air Base was built as a training center for the United States Army Air Forces . The base was responsible for continued population growth in Santa Ana and the rest of Orange Countyas many veterans move to the are to raise families after the end of the war.
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Due to declining ridership , the route was abandoned by the 1950´s and the tracks were removed along with much of the rest of the Pacific Electric system .
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Having been a Charter City since november 11 , 1952 , the citizens of Santa Ana amended the Charter November 1988 to provide to the direct election of the Mayor who until that point had been an appointee of the Council.The current Mayor of Santa Ana is Miguel A. Pulido , the first mayor of latino descent in the city´s history and in fact, the first Mayor directly elected by the voters .
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The closing coincided with the opening of the Santa Ana Freeway in 1953 increasing the ease of travel by automobile.
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Since thw 1980´s , Santa Ana has been characterized by an effort to revitalize the downtown area which had declined in influence. The Santa Ana Artist´s Village was created around Cal State Fullerton´s Grand Central Art Center to attract artits and young professionals to live-work lofts and new businesses.The process has continued into 2009 with the reopening of the historic Yost Theater.
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MainPlace Mall (now Westfield MainPlace) was opened north of downtown and became a major retail center for the area.
