One of my favorite recent finds is one of the last surviving historic citrus ranches in Orange County: George Key Ranch Historic Park. It’s tucked away in suburban Placentia, butting up against the development that swallowed up most of the original ranch.
In 1893 George Benn Key and his wife Mary moved to Placentia so George could assume the role of superintendent of the Southern California Semi-Tropical Fruit Company Ranch, a 110-acre property owned by his brother-in-law Richard Gilman. That same year, the Keys bought 20 acres at what is now the corner of Placentia Avenue and Bastanchury Road and planted about 12 acres of Valencia oranges.
In 1898, George built the family’s two-and-a-half-story ranch house, where he and Mary raised their six children. The home was later expanded in 1908 with additions including a second-story balcony and a hand-crafted concrete block porch.
In 1944, their son George Gilman Key and his wife Hannah returned to the ranch after his retirement from the oil industry and took over the family business. But by then, Orange County was beginning to rapidly change. Following World War II, housing developments swallowed up farmland, and rising taxes, labor expenses, and water costs made citrus farming increasingly difficult. Selling land to developers became far more profitable than growing oranges.
Photo Credit: Orange County Archives
As neighboring ranches began disappearing during the 1950s, George Gilman Key began collecting farming equipment, tools, and household artifacts from nearby properties in order to preserve pieces of Orange County’s agricultural past. As the citrus industry continued to decline, George found himself selling off portions of his ranch until only 2.2 acres remained.
Dedicated to preserving local history, George and Hannah opened the property to visitors, sharing their home and teaching people about Orange County’s disappearing citrus heritage. Their efforts paid off when the ranch was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. In 1980, they sold the property to the County of Orange for $325,000 under two conditions: they would be allowed to live there for the rest of their lives, and the ranch would be preserved as a museum. Hannah passed away in 1983, followed by George in 1989.
Today, the ranch is maintained by OC Parks and is open to the public on Saturdays. Visitors can explore historic farm equipment and hand tools, stroll through the three-quarter-acre “Verse Garden” created by George Gilman Key in 1945, and see one of the last remaining orange groves in the County. Guests can also tour the historic Key family home during free guided tours offered every Saturday at 1PM.