Exceptional Child Hunter

The area is the home of the Tongva, Luiseño, and Juaneño tribal nations, who were there "as early as 4,000 years ago." The Tongva defined their world as Tovaangar, a nation which "extended from Palos Verdes to San Bernardino, from Saddleback Mountain to the San Fernando Valley" and included the entire territory of present-day Yorba Linda. Spanish colonization between 1769 and 1840 brought "disease, invasive species, and livestock" into the area, which "upended the ecological balance of the region and forced the Tongva to resettle around three missions." In 1810, the Spanish crown granted Jose Antonio Yorba 63,414 acres of land, which "spread across much of modern-day Orange County." In 1834, following Mexico's independence from Spain, Jose Antonio Yorba's most successful son, Bernardo Yorba (after whom the city would later be named), was granted the 13,328-acre (53.94 km 2) Rancho Cañón de Santa Ana by Mexican governor José Figueroa. Most of this original land was retained after the Mexican–American War in 1848 by descendants of the Yorba family. A portion of the city's land is still owned and developed by descendants of Samuel Kraemer, who acquired it through his marriage to Angelina Yorba, the great-granddaughter of Bernardo Yorba. The site of the Bernardo Yorba Hacienda, referred to as the Don Bernardo Yorba Ranch House Site, is listed as a California Historical Landmark.