A cherished remnant preserving north Orange County’s legacy as a citrus producing region was showcased over the weekend at the inaugural Summer Citrus Harvest in Placentia.
About 300 visitors turned out for the event Saturday at the George Key Ranch and Historic Park. The day featured tours of the 2.2-acre property, demonstrations and historic artifacts.
“The inaugural Summer Citrus Harvest event aimed to give visitors an authentic glimpse into Orange County’s rich agricultural past,” said Danielle Kennedy, spokesperson of OC Parks, which operates the park, calling the event a success that “will likely be continued in the future.”
The George Key Ranch was home to an early farming family of Placentia and was one of the original Sunkist orange groves planted in the county. It still produces a harvest.
The centerpiece of the property is the 125-year-old home of the Key family that visitors explored Saturday during docent-led tours.
The historic six-bedroom home has been preserved and can also be toured on Saturday mornings. Family photographs grace the mantle above a fireplace and a cast-iron, wood-burning stove is among the fixtures in the kitchen.
Among the tour guides Saturday was Mary Lou Key, granddaughter of George Gilman Key and Hannah Ipsen Key, who were the last to live in the home before they donated the property to OC Parks.
In 1975, the property was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, overseen by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s National Park Service.
“The Key Ranch typifies those owned by the county’s orange ranchers at the turn of the century,” part of the description of the property says. “The ranch is reminiscent of the horse and buggy days and of a time when household, garden and ranch chores were done by hand. The cows had to be milked, chickens and turkeys fed, butter churned, foods canned and clothes sewn. Bobcat and coyote hunting were the sports of the day. A two-room schoolhouse nearby…
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