Carbon Fire Update

Thanks to Watch Duty and CalFire, it was reported a little over four hours ago that the Carbon Fire, burning some 210 acres between Olinda Village and Olinda Ranch in Brea on the north side of Carbon Canyon Road (State Route 142), was 71% contained.

During the day, there were 20 engines from a quartet of three-strike teams, nine hand crews, two dozers, two water tenders, drones and many firefighters engaged in the battle to control the blaze and deal with hot spots, which, as many of us now, can flare up into new fires.

With all evacuation warnings lifted earlier, the Red Cross care and reception center located at the Chino Hills Community Center was also closed today and Carbon Canyon Road opened before 4 p.m.  Those driving through later could see some of the equipment parked along the highway.

A great deal of thanks is owed to all of the agencies and personnel deployed to combat the conflagration, which was fanned by strong winds, though tempered by the light rain which fell last night.  While the investigation continues, it should be noted that many such fires along roadways can be caused by sparks from vehicles—again, this is only a general statement and we'll see if any identification is made as to a cause.

Just 45 minutes or so before the fire burst forth, the Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council concluded the first of a pair of Brush Drop Off events on the Chino Hills side of the Canyon.  These events, held for many years, involve the collection of brush and other material culled from properties and two roll-off bins were filled, comprising many thousands of pounds of brush.

 

While these help to mitigate some of the risk of wildfires in the Canyon, the Carbon Fire is yet another reminder that there is no longer a "fire season" and the threat of a blaze is present year-round.  Residents clearing material at their houses, CalTrans keeping dry brush away from the roadway of Carbon Canyon Road, and other property owners limiting the brush on their land are all part of the effort to reduce the possibility of a devastating conflagration like those of 2008, 1990, 1980, 1978 and in the years prior.

Thanks to Matt Eseltine for his remarkable photos of the Carbon Fire!

Carbon Fire Forward Movement Halted

 According to a 1:50 a.m. update by Alert Duty, forward movement on the Carbon Fire, scorching around 200 acres near Olinda Village on the Brea side of Carbon Canyon was halted by firefighting personnel working since the blaze burst out almost exactly 12 hours prior.

Carbon Canyon Road looks to remain closed as work continues on combating the conflagration.  For some remarkable video, check this out from the Orange County Fire Authority.

Much appreciation to all of the agencies and personnel who are working tirelessly to fight this fire and keep it from houses, structures and people!

Thanks to Matt Eseltine for sharing photos taking of the blaze and those fighting it!

Brush Fire Between Olinda Ranch and Olinda Village

Within the last 10 minutes, alerts have been issued of a brush fire in Brea, between Olinda Ranch and Olinda Village. Because of gusty winds, the flames have been moving toward the latter and several acres burned at last report. The fire response includes a variety of equipment and Carbon Canyon Road is closed while the blaze is being battled.

From the Orange County Register:

Firefighters on Saturday afternoon, April 25 were battling a wind-driven vegetation fire that scorched 4 acres in Brea, authorities said.

The blaze, dubbed the Carbon Fire, was reported around 1:45 p.m. on the north side of Carbon Canyon Road, according to Watch Duty, a nonprofit app that tracks wildfires. The fire quickly spread to 4 acres, and was approaching the neighborhood of Olinda Village.

Carbon Canyon Road was closed down between Brea Hill and Ruby, the Brea Police Department announced.

An additional five engines, two tankers and a helicopter were requested by incident command to combat the blaze.

From NBC4 Los Angeles a little before 3:30 p.m.:

Evacuation warnings were issued Saturday afternoon after a brush fire broke out in an unincorporated area of Brea.

The Carbon Fire was reported just after 1:30 p.m. in the area of Carbon Canyon and Olinda Place near Carbon Canyon Regional Park, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.

The blaze, which is currently at about 5 acres, prompted officials to issue an evacuation warning for Hollydale Mobile Home Park and Olinda Village. The public is asked to avoid the area until further notice.

As a result of the firefight, Carbon Canyon Road is closed between Ruby Drive and Break Hills Avenue.

It’s unclear what caused the fire.

Further updates, 6:30 p.m.: The Carbon Fire, involving some 200 acres, burns toward the north, apparently in Chino Hills State Park and other land, away from Olinda Village. Further firefighting resources have been requested in the form of 20 engines, 4 hand crews and 2 dozers. The City of Brea, it is reported, is keeping Carbon Canyon Road closed until tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon.

Carbon Canyon Resident Claire Schlotterbeck Honored as Chino Valley Champion's Outstanding Citizen for 2025

Spanning both sides of Carbon Canyon, Chino Hills State Park is easily one of the most important open spaces in our region and one of the core figures in its creation is Claire Schlottrebeck, whose decades of work with Hills for Everyone involves the preservation of so many other areas in the Chino and Puente hills ranges, beyond other activities such as serving as secretary of the Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council.

The Chino Valley Champion has just named Claire, a Canyon resident of the Olinda Village community of Brea, its Outstanding Citizen for 2025, a recognition that is so well deserved. Many congratulations, Claire!

Seeking a Fixer?

This sign was spotted this past week while heading west on Carbon Canyon Road (State Route 142) just past Olinda Village on the Brea side of Carbon Canyon and leads to an obvious question about what defines a "fixer"?!

The Gaines and Brown Families of Carbon Canyon, Part 13: More Photos from the Flying Cow Ranch at Olinda

With thanks once more to Joyce Harrington for sharing photos of the Brown and Gaines families, who lived in the Carbon Canyon and Olinda areas for decades, here is another set of great images of scenes at the Flying Cow Ranch.

The ranch, established by Edward F. Gaines, was located where today's Olinda Village community is situated just outside the mouths of Carbon and Soquel canyons.  The Craftsman-style residence stood where the Hollydale Mobile Home Estates is on the south side of Carbon Canyon Road, while the majority of the ranch was north of the state highway.

The Craftsman-style house of the Gaines family's Flying Cow Ranch.  The site is now Hollydale Mobile Home Estates in Olinda Village, south of Carbon Canyon Road.  All photos are courtesy of Joyce Harrington.  Click on any to see them enlarged in a separate window.

As noted here before, Gaines lived in the community of Clearwater, so named because of the many artesian wells drilled in the area.  That hamlet, along with Hynes, were among the first in the region to experiment with sugar beets in the late 19th century, a crop that made Chino famous, as well. 

After the sugar beet era died out, Clearwater and Hynes, along with adjacent areas like Artesia and Cerritos, became the center of a massive and profitable dairy industry.  The region was regarded as "The Milk Shed of Los Angeles" and "The World's Largest Hay Market," as the growing of hay to feed the cows was an adjunct industry of significance. 

A hunting party at the Flying Cow.  The distinctive hill in the background is on the west end of the Olinda Village subdivision.

The dairy industry reigned supreme in the area until after World War II when massive immigration and large-scale suburban development rendered the land far more valuable for housing, commercial business and other uses.  The dairy farmers of Clearwater and Hynes, as well as neighboring communities, then headed inland to Chino and Ontario.  With developing spreading further into the Inland Empire, the dairies have been, are now and will continue to be leaving our region for greener pastures elsewhere.

Gaines, who lived from the 1870s to the 1950s, experienced the stunning transformations of life in the region from the late 19th century to the jet age and all of the technological and other innovations that went along with it. 

Ed Gaines' prized stagecoach, which he and a grandson restored and which was taken to parades and other events until it was destroyed in a September 1939 fire at the Flying Cow Ranch.

In many ways, he was a holdover from an earlier age, though, and his Flying Cow Ranch was a rural retreat where he hunted, kept horses and livestock, and stored his vintage stagecoach.  This latter was a particular pride and joy for Gaines, who took it to all kinds of public events and rode it as a reminder of pre-automobile days of transportation.  Sadly, a barn fire in 1939 killed some of Gaines' prized horses and destroyed the coach.

Having these photos provided by Joyce is a great way to document the history of Carbon Canyon and Olinda, especially as the oil wells at the latter are gradually being shut down and removed for more suburban development.

A view at the Flying Cow Ranch and which appears to look north into where most of the Olinda Village tract is now.

Check back again soon for more great historic images of the Gaines and Brown families of Carbon Canyon and Olinda, including the Olinda oil field and Olinda School.

The Gaines and Brown Families of Carbon Canyon, Part 11: A Trio of Photos at the Flying Cow Ranch

With thanks again to Joyce Harrington for providing copies of many photographs and documents concerning the Gaines and Brown families, from whom she is descended and who lived in the Carbon Canyon area for many decades, here are a trio of photos showing Edward F. Gaines and his Flying Cow Ranch.

This is the area that is now known as Olinda Village, with the Craftsman-style ranch house situated where the Hollydale Mobile Home Estates and adjoining Hindu temple are located south of Carbon Canyon Road.

To the north of the state highway, meanwhile, were areas of the ranch devoted to grazing animals and this is where the Olinda Village subdivision was created in 1964, not long after Gaines' death and the sale of the ranch.

The first photo is of the house, examples of which have been shown before, and includes Ed and his wife Fannie seated, second and third from left, on the edge of the porch, with Ed holding a dog in his lap.  The photo was taken about 1911.

The second image is a nice closeup of Gaines with one of his prized horses, likely near the stables and barn area that burned in a tragic fire in 1939.

The third view is a fantastic one showing Gaines seated on his horse, "Addison P. Day," perhaps the same animal as in the earlier image, in front of the entrance to the Flying Cow.  In the distance are some the expansive rolling hills that marked much of the property.

More images from this collection are forthcoming, even as posts have slowed recently, so look for more in the New Year.

The Gaines and Brown Families of Carbon Canyon, Part 7: Christmas Greetings from the Flying Cow Ranch

As we head into the Christmas holiday and approach the New Year, it seems like a good time for a new post featuring photographs, provided by Joyce Harrington, of her ancestors in the Gaines family, owners of the Flying Cow Ranch where Olinda Village is today.

One nice item is a Christmas real photo postcard sent by the family--real photo postcards were very popular in the 1910s and this one shows the family posed in front of their Craftsman-style ranch house, which stood where the Hollydale Mobile Home Estates is located on south side of Carbon Canyon Road at the junction of Carbon and Soquel canyons.

There are so many great photos of the Flying Cow Ranch, so let's include a few, showing just how rural the place was decades ago when traffic on Carbon Canyon Road during a day would number probably double digits or maybe low triple digits and you were more likely to hear cattle lowing than a car audio system blowing.

First, the holidays are, of course, a time to celebrate with family and friends, so, while the second photo shown here, probably from about he 1920s judging from the car, clothing and hair styles, was not likely during the Christmas season, though it could have been, it is easy to imagine the Gaines' inviting folks to come out to the ranch to emjoy some rural yuletide cheer with hikes, horse rides and other outdoor activities.

Then, a major part of celebrating Christmas or any major holiday is to have a feast, there is a cool image here on a barbeque held on the ranch.  There are certainly times when Christmas day is sunny and seasonable, so having a holiday barbeque (check out that set up for cooking) outdoors would have been a possibility, though it is unlikely the photo was taken in December!

Finally, the Gaines family home probably hosted plenty of fun indoor gatherings with carols sung, meals eaten, and presents opened by a Christmas tree near a roaring fire (though, again, this is just general guesswork.)  The last photo shows the family hosting the Thompsons and the group gathered on the front porch with the neat rustic stone porch posts and the ca. 1910s car in the background as some fun details.

Meantime, enjoy your Christmas holiday and check back in a few days for more Carbon Canyon history through the reminiscences of David Purington, whose family founded Sleepy Hollow in the 1920s.

The Gaines and Brown Families of Carbon Canyon, Part Two

Here are a couple more great photographs provided by Joyce Harrington of her ancestors in the Brown and Gaines families, who were in the Olinda oil fields (Brown) and at the Flying Cow Ranch (Gaines) where Olinda Village is now.

The first photograph shows Earl Brown and others at an office, probably the Santa Fe lease where the Olinda Ranch subdivision now is located, on the Olinda lease.  The date was given on the photograph as 1909 or 1910.

Employees at an office, probably on the Santa Fe lease, at Olinda, ca. 1909-10.  The photos shown here are courtesy of Joyce Harrington.

The second image is a look at the Gaines family home from the southeast.  It looks as if the photo was taken on what is now the Hollydale mobile home park.

The dirt road leading to the house probably came up from the old road through Carbon Canyon, which was down along the creek as it came from Olinda to the west, met the confluence with Soquel Canyon and its creek and then headed uphill to Carbon Canyon just east of the ranch.

The Flying Cow Ranch house of Ed and Fannie Gaines seen from the southeast.  The location of the photo appears to be on what is now the Hollydale mobile home park and the peaked hill in the background is to the west of the Olinda Village subdivision.

People familiar with the area will recognize the peaked hill in the background, which is to the west of the Olinda Village tract.

More fantastic photos coming soon!

The Buzz on the History of the Binder Beekeeping Ranch of Soquel Canyon

Soquel Canyon, Carbon Canyon's southern neighbor, is, compared to others in the area, relatively undisturbed.  There are remnants of structures in Hidden Valley, the area where the Chino Ranch Ride (covered here in a recent post) took place for decades from the late 1930s.  On the eastern end, the Aerojet munitions testing facility has certainly left a mark below ground level, though much of the physical presence above ground is absent.  Much of the canyon is held as private property, but development of any kind is going to be problematic given the difficulty of access.

This situation is not for a lack of trying, however.  As early as the mid-1920s, a proposal, noted here previously, to build a road through Soquel from Brea to Chino was floated and the idea remained in the minds of regional and local planners and others (and may still for some).  In the late 1960s, traffic studies, noting that the 91, 60 and soon-to-be opened 57 freeways and Carbon Canyon Road (Grand Avenue was years from being pushed through to Chino Hills) were the only east-west corridors between the Inland Empire and Orange County, advocated fora 6-lane highway through Soquel that would have destroyed it.  Finally, not that many years ago, the highway concept was dropped, though no one should be surprised if an attempt to reintroduce the idea will come once again.

In its early days, uses of Soquel Canyon were few.  The eastern portion falls within the boundaries of the Rancho Santa Ana del Chino and was used for grazing cattle and other animals on the property.  To the west, a section of Soquel was within public lands that were common areas for owners of ranchos, such as Chino, to use when their properties were over-grazed or threatened to become so.

With the gradual demise of the rancho system, though, public lands were made available for sale, starting in the later 1860s.  It appears that one of the first persons to take the opportunity to acquire property in the public portion of Soquel Canyon was Charles Binder.

Binder was born in 1840 in Copenhagen, Denmark and immigrated to the United States, where he worked as a carpenter and then joined the Army at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania in June 1872.  By the end of the year, though, Binder decided the military wasn't for him and, in what was a common act at the time, deserted his unit.  It appears that, not long after, he drifted westward.

Charles Binder's voter registration record from 1879, showing his naturalization the previous fall in Los Angeles and identifying him as a beekeeper in the Anaheim township--specifically at Soquel Canyon.

By the late 1870s, he was in the Los Angeles area, where he was naturalized in November 1878.  The following summer, in July 1879, he registered to vote as a resident of Anaheim Township and was listed as a 39-year old bee rancher.  Though it was not stated, Binder had established himself in Soquel Canyon to do his work, though it appears that he did not keep his residence at the ranch, but lived elsewhere in the area.

At the end of June 1880, enumerator J.W. Anderson made his way through the Orange-Santa Ana Township of Los Angeles County as part of the undertaking of the federal census.  After leaving Santa Ana Canyon and the home of Marcos Yorba, son of prominent ranchero Bernardo Yorba, in what is now Yorba Linda, Anderson headed northwest.

Charles Binder's 1880 census listing showing him as an apiarist in Soquel Canyon within the Orange Santa Ana Township.  He also appears to have been bee-keeping near modern Claremont at the same time.

He came across two 40-year old Danes, Christian Christensen and Binder, both of whom were listed as being an "apariast," the proprietor of a bee-keeping enterprise.  Binder had a German-Mexican employee, Anton Smith, as an employee.  Two households down was Alfred Patten, a 26-year old native of Arkansas, who also was practicing the apiary trade.  Then, the next two households featured Claus Grim, a 35-year old German, and 27-year old Frank M. Davis, also from Arkansas, both of whom were listed as working with "Cattle & Bees."

This stereoscopic photograph of a San Gabriel Valley apiary, or bee keeping ranch, was taken by A. C. Varela about 1878, which is roughly when Charles Binder began his bee-keeping work at Soquel Canyon.  Photo courtesy of the Workman and Temple Family Homestead Museum, City of Industry.

There was, in fact, in the 1870s and 1880s, a bit of a bee-keeping craze in the greater Los Angeles area, with apiarists setting up their facilities in the San Gabriel Valley and, apparently, in what later became northeastern Orange County.

On the same 1880 census, but in the San Jose township, north of Pomona, there was a listing by census taker Frank Ellis, for 40-year old Charles Binder, "apiarian" and a 30-year old man, known only as "John Doe."  Though Binder was listed here as hailing from Germany, it seems certain that he had two separate bee-keeping facilities--one at Soquel Canyon and the other probably in the vicinity of San Antonio Canyon near what is now Claremont, given that his near neighbor was the Reverend Charles F. Loop, co-owner of the Loop and Meserve Tract that encompased the area.

Charles Binder's listing as an apiarian in the San Jose & Azusa township, specifically near San Antonio Canyon in modern Claremont, 1880 Federal Census.

In 1882, Binder was listed in a newspaper public notice as having "possession, interest and claim to 160 acres, being southeast quarter of section 31 township 2 south range 9 west."  This looks to be an area up near Brea Canyon, which might be an indication of his trying to expand his land-holding interests. Two years later, Binder was listed as a bee-keeper in the Anaheim section of the Los Angeles City and County Directory.

On 20 August 1888, two notable events happened for Binder. First, he re-registered to vote, once again listing himself as a beekeeper in Anaheim.  The second is that the 48-year old was married in East Los Angeles (now the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles) to Celia Clarkston, also of Anaheim and also 48-years old.

From the Los Angeles Herald of 28 July 1889 is a brief description of a wildfire that burned Charles Binder's apiary--this may be the first documented Carbon Canyon area wildfire.

Tragedy struck just under a year later.  In what may be the earliest documented wildfire in the Carbon Canyon area, the Los Angeles Herald of 27 July 1889 had a brief article reporting that,

Fire on the Olinda Ranch, north of Anaheim, last evening swept over a vast amount of territory, destroying Charles Binder's bee ranch, windmill, barn and other property.  The fire started from brush burning, which got beyond control.  Loss several thousand dollars.

As chronicled here before, the Shanklin Ranch, which covered several thousand acres of the area, mainly became the property of W.H. Bailey, a native of Maui, Hawaii, who renamed his property Olinda after his family's plantation on the Hawaiian island.  Whether Binder's ranch was actually on the ranch and had been purchased or leased by him is not clear.

Another major issue was the state of the local economy.  The well-known "Boom of the Eighties" which peaked in 1887-88 and which, at Olinda Ranch, led to grand plans like the town of Carlton and a proposed railroad from Chino, went bust about the time of the fire that destroyed Binder's apiary.

The 1890s was a decade in which the Los Angeles region was frequently in drought conditions and the nation was hit by a debilitating depression in 1893.  Still, Binder persevered with his bee-keeping enterprise.  In the 5 November 1893 issue of the Herald it was reported that "Charles Binder of Anaheim has purchased the cottage of W.T. Smith and moved his family out to Mr. Binder's foothill ranch."  This "foothill ranch" is almost certainly his apiary at Soquel Canyon.

Binder's stay at the "foothill ranch" appears to have been limited, however.  Whereas in 1892 he registered to vote out of the Yorba precinct with an Anaheim post office address, four years later, he registered out of Fullerton and gave his occupation as a farmer.

This appears to correspond with his purchase of three lots in the town in March 1895 from the Pacific Land Improvement Company, which was a subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, the line of which passed along the south edge of the town and whose president was George H. Fullerton, its namesake.  Pacific Land was also the founder of Claremont, another town along a Santa Fe line and owned the land on behalf of the Santa Fe in the Olinda oil field, where the railroad's Petroleum Development Company operated the earliest wells.

The "Death Record" listings from the Los Angeles Times, 22 May 1899, including one for the death of Charles Binder the prior day at his Fullerton home.

On 21 May 1899, Binder died at his Fullerton home at the age of 59 or 60 and his widow, Celia, continued to reside there.  In 1900, she leased out the Binder Ranch to the newly formed Soquel Canyon Oil Company.  A July 1900 issue of the Los Angeles-based magazine The Capital featured an article on local oil companies, including the Carbon Canyon Oil Company (covered here previously) and Soquel Canyon Oil, described as having 190 acres under its ownership just east of Olinda.

While it would be expected that articles like this would play up the potential of oil-bearing lands like that of Soquel Canyon oil, it is also not surprising that, far more often than not, small players like the firm quickly revealed the risky nature of the business.

The first well proved to be dry of oil, if not of water and, as reported in the Herald twice in mid-March 1901, it was abandoned.  Another well was sited, but proved to be problematic, as well.  A year later, the company pulled out its rigging and transferred to a well it was working on in the Los Angeles field near downtown.

A Herald piece from 1 May also observed that there were many rumors of gold in the Soquel Canyon area, with one canyon going by the name of "Robbers' Roost Canyon."  While stating that there were indications of quartz and iron in the hills, there was also reference to the allegations that "a few years ago there was some excitement over the alleged discovery of coal on the Binder ranch, but this fund did not prove profitable.  As early as 1877, maps showed a number of coal mining claims in the area, which is almost certainly how Carbon Canyon got its name.

Speaking of maps, the Soquel Canyon Oil Company had its two wells in the area where Soquel and Carbon canyons meet, right at the location of today's Olinda Village and Hollydale Mobile Home Estates.  It may be that the Binder ranch was situated on land that later was partially or completely purchased by Edward Gaines and which became the "Flying Cow Ranch".

Several years ago, apiaries were noticed at the west end of the La Vida Mineral Springs property, though that material was soon removed.  Other boxes for bee keeping have been spotted on hilltops between Carbon and Soquel canyons and some are still there, though inactive.  It is almost certainly unlikely that these modern apiarians were aware of the history of bee keeping in our local canyons dating back to the 1870s.  Given the severe threat to bees now, apparently due to pesticides, it may be that a new era of apiaries is long overdue. 

Another Short Jaunt Through Chino Hills State Park

From the Lilac Trail in the northwest corner of Chino Hills State Park behind Olinda Village in Brea looking across Sonome Canyon.  The water tank at the left was where the main stop was made on the trek.

Yesterday's trek through the heart of Chino Hills State Park was such a great experience that it felt like it was time for an encore.  So, this morning a similar distance was hiked and it took about the same time--in this instance, the walk went through the little-utilized section of the park on the north side of Carbon Canyon above the Olinda Village community in Brea.

A nice little view of part of Sonome Canyon as framed by a couple of native oaks along the La Vida Trail.

Starting at about 11:30, the excursion used the Lilac Trail and headed up a pretty good incline along a wide road, until about a mile up or so.  This blogger has hiked that trail up to some transmission towers at the northwest corner of the state park property, behind the Olinda Alpha Landfill, a few times, but this time a right turn was made onto the La Vida Trail.

This route heads eastward and descends down into Sonome Canyon, which is at to the north behind Olinda Village.  The descent is generally nice and gradual and wends down to the canyon bottom where there are what appear to be two branches of the canyon--one northwest and the other northeast.

The northwest branch of Sonome Canyon from the La Vida Trail.

Creeks or washes come from both drainages and it can only be imagined, given the parched conditions of the last four years, what extensive rainfall, such as that expected in the next few months, will bring to these secluded and pretty areas.

In the northwest branch, the trail crosses where the creek drops down and there is a spot there where  drop of several feet must provide for a nice little waterfall when there is actually a flow there.

The La Vida Trail is at the left as it descends down into Sonome Canyon with its main branch dead ahead.

Over in the northeast or main canyon, just before the trail turns to head up the east slope, a little side path led about fifteen feet off the trail to the dry creek, but with shade from trees, this could be a great little spot to rest and enjoy the quiet, solitude, and, if available, the water flow in the creek.

Perhaps a visit in the spring is in order to see what these locales are like after the rains we expect to have--provided that there aren't trail washouts, that is!

Having ascended the eastern slope of Sonome Canyon, this is looking back at the main branch.

The climb up the eastern slope of Sonome Canyon was a decent one and comes out to the paved road that leads to the dual water tanks and the cell tower that serve the Olinda Village area.

A little walk around the tanks and tower and a short descent to the southeast provided a very nice spot to rest in the shade of an oak tree and enjoy the panoramic views and the general quiet (although traffic from Carbon Canyon Road to the south could be heard.)

From the water tanks and cell tower, this image looks over where the Madrona project entrance was slated to be next to the former Manely Friends stable along Carbon Canyon Road.  Two ridgelines back is the main portion of Chino Hills State Park.

The descent back towards the village included a side trail that skirted the winding paved road.  Shortly after rejoining the road, though, there was a broad flat bench with a narrow trail leading out towards a sort of promontory.

A road drops down from this point along the shadowed area at the right of center to the historic La Vida Mineral Springs property.  Carbon Canyon is at the center and the north ridge of the main section of the state park in the distance.

From that area there were excellent views of Olinda Village to the west, but especially striking ones of Carbon Canyon to the east, especially the narrowing of the steep canyon walls on the Brea side and then the fanning out of the back of the canyon over on the Chino Hills side.

This was a nice way to finish out a short, but rewarding, hike through a seldom-visited area.  After heading through the well-manicured village neighborhood, the walk concluded with another great experience and a reminder of why living in Carbon Canyon has so many benefits.

From a flat bench or promontory above Olinda Village was this excellent view of Carbon Canyon as the narrow defiles in the Brea portion open to the fanned-out back of the canyon in Chino Hills.

Seeing the graded top of the Canyon Hills housing tract and looking at what could have been the massive Madrona project and the pending Hidden Oaks development is another kind of reminder, though.  As flatter lands below are taken by development, the fight for hillsides and hilltops will only intensify, despite the traffic issues, fire risks, water supply questions, habitat loss and other issues.

Those of us who walk these hills need to be more appreciative of what we have and what can be lost if our local governments approve more housing in the canyon.

Stone's Smokehouse in Carbon Canyon Opens Tonight!

Stone's Smokehouse in the Olinda Village Shopping Center is open for business as of tonight.  The restaurant occupies the space most recently known as Sol de Mexico, as well as an adjacent unit that was last a church.  The enterprise has a full bar as well as the dining area and there was a special advance event for Carbon Canyon residents last night to introduce the place.

Here is a comment left by an Olinda Village resident on the post from a couple of months back announcing the imminent opening of the restaurant.  It says it all, so here it is:

Stone's Smokehouse is opening tomorrow night, July 10.

The private opening for Carbon Canyon residents tonight was a huge success with just about everyone in Olinda Village showing up. It was jam packed from 6pm to 9pm and a good time was had by all. 

Even the guys from Brea Fire Station 4 stopped by and gave the kids a tour of their truck and passed out fire hats and left with lights on and siren blaring. 

The food was great and the owners, Tory and Marcela Stone are the nicest people in the world. The staff worked hard serving wall to wall people and had nothing but smiles and a friendly attitude.

We are so happy to have a local place to grab a burger and fries or some nice BBQ and wash it down with a cold beer or glass of wine in the company of friends.

Check it out and welcome the Stones to Carbon Canyon.

Best of luck to Tony and Marcela Stone as they launch their new venture and readers should feel free to leave comments on the restaurant, which can be passed on the Stones.

New Carbon Canyon Restaurant Opening Soon

A banner has appeared in recent days on eastbound Carbon Canyon Road just before Olinda Village announcing that a new restaurant, Stones Smoke House Barbecue & Grill, is opening soon and that hiring has begun.

The new eatery will occupy the space in the Olinda Village shopping center that was, for several years, the excellent and missed Sol de México and before that was, briefly, an Italian restaurant and then another long-standing Mexican place.

A comment was left on this blog months ago stating that there was something in the works and now this looks to be coming to fruition.

Of course, the restaurant business is notoriously competitive and the shopping center at Olinda Village, dating to the 1960s, is a relic of the time.  An unusual combination of dry cleaners and scrapbooking has opened recently, though it's not clear how well that business is doing.  Otherwise, there is the electrical testing facility and the Carbon Creek Realty business that also operate there.

So, stay tuned for more!

E.F. Gaines' Flying Cow Ranch

Edward F. Gaines has been discussed on this blog before.  He was a native of Gilroy, who moved with his family to the community of Wilmington next to Los Angeles Harbor.  Evidently, his father ran cattle in Carbon Canyon during the late 19th-century and Edward assisted in this.  After farming for a period in Clearwater and Hynes, communities that are now in the area of Paramount, Gaines, his wife, the former Frances Atwater, and their children moved out to a spread, known as the "Flying Cow Ranch," in the canyon.

A Santa Ana (now Orange County) Register article about a barbeque for the Orange County Riding Club on the E.F. Gaines ranch, 17 November 1927.

Among other endeavors having to do with horse raising, real estate investing and others, Gaines appears to have been among the first, if not the first, people to work with La Vida Mineral Springs from a commercial standpoint.  James Williams, who managed the resort in the 1910s, was from the same area in modern Paramount that Gaines had lived in.  Gaines' nephew Allan Abbott was shown in the 1920 federal census as the manager of La Vida.  By 1924, however, William N. Miller, an Anaheim oilman, assumed control of the resort and ushered in almost a half-century of ownership by his family.

An oral history interview done by Cal State Fullerton personnel included a reference that Gaines' house was where the Hollydale Mobile Home Estates is located.  But, his holdings extended beyond that into what is today's Olinda Village subdivision.

Notably, Gaines was considered a prime mover in the creation of Carbon Canyon Road east of Olinda and deep into the canyon, but he also wanted the original location along Carbon [Canyon] Creek and below his home to be the preferred route, even as local and state officials, once the road became a state highway, pushed to have the road moved higher and above the flood-prone creek.  In fact, the road was relocated, dividing Gaines' house from the remainder of his land.

In March 1937, the Santa Ana (now Orange County) Register had an article in its "Places to Go in Orange County" series penned by Marah Adams on Carbon Canyon with much information about Gaines.  For example, the oil well that purportedly exposed the mineral springs that later fed La Vida was built with Gaines observing the proceedings--this would have been at the end of the 1890s or early in the 1900s.  In the fact, the name "C.C. Price" was mentioned for a second drilling on the site--this was actually Charles E. Price of the Carbon Canyon Oil Company, which drilled its wells in 1900 and just afterward.

The article also detailed the efforts of Gaines and W.T. Brown of Fullerton in converting an old cow trail into the first edition of Carbon Canyon Road.  The article did not give a date, but this would have been in 1913-14.

A photo from a Santa Ana Register article, dated 21 May 1937, showing Edward F. Gaines of the Flying Cow Ranch (today's Olinda Village area) and a visitor next to the circa 1870s stagecoach that was a prized possession of Gaines.

Two months later, in May, another Register article dealt with Gaines, this time in connection with a rare old stagecoach that he owned on his ranch, which was said to have been 3,000 acres, though this may have been with an added zero as an error, and to have been owned by Gaines since the late 1890s.  In any case, the reason for the ranch's name was explained as due to "a wild cow that used to roam the hills and which always evaded the skillfully flung ropes of the ranch hands."

The piece also observed that "the ranch house sits cool and pleasant as a lovely hostess, on a hill overlooking a slope of orange trees set on one side of a barranca, the other side overgrown with a tangle of trees and vines."  This location corresponds well to the Hollydale site, with its note of a slope above the "barranca," which is Spanish for a deep gully with steep sides.

Then the article touched upon Gaines' rare example of a surviving stagecoach, many of its brethren having been lost, the rancher stated, to movie companies that thought nothing of taking an old coach and tumbling it over a cliff or hillside for dramatic effect during a film shoot.

Gaines' vehicle, however, was made by Abbott, Downing and Company of Concord, New Hampshire (hence the term "Concord coach") about 1875.  It was said the coach was used by the Bixby family, which owned the Long Beach-area ranchos Los Cerritos and Los Alamitos, as well as stretches of land throughout the region (the Bixby Land Company is still successful today), on its commercial stage line up the state's coast.

Gaines even stated that the coach he owned was used by his father when he migrated from Gilroy to a ranch he purchased in San Gabriel, while young Edward and his mother made the trip by ocean steamer.  There was then a detailed description of the coach and the article was accompanied by a photo (shown above).

At the end of 1939, another piece in the Register covered the fiftieth wedding anniversary of Edward and Frances Gaines.  After a detailed description of decorations in the family home, the cake, family members attending and so on, the article noted that the two met at Clearwater, where Mrs. Gaines' father was a major figure in the subdivision of the property and where Edward lived while his father farmed and ran cattle in Carbon Canyon.

In fact, the article went on to state that, for years after their 1889 marriage, Gaines ran 300-400 head of cattle every year between the Clearwater pastures and Carbon Canyon.  The piece concluded by stating that, "Mr. and Mrs. Gaines never will be forgotten as representatives of the romance of the state," while also observing that Edward's prize stagecoach had burned in a recent fire.

Frances Gaines died in 1947 and Edward followed nine years later in San Diego County.  Within a decade of that, during the 1960s, the Flying Cow Ranch was sold and the Hollydale Mobile Home Estates and church property (now a Hindu facility) were established where the Gaines house once stood.

Carbon Canyon's Newest Business

Well, there had been chatter about a new restaurant opening in the Olinda Village shopping center where Sol de México closed earlier this year, but in the last month or so a new business has hung up its shingle there.

Canyon Cleaners has opened its doors, occupying suite 170 where Station 4 of the Fullerton/Brea Fire Department was housed until a new station was built and opened in the lot at the east end of the center.

Whether there is enough of a market for a cleaners in the Olinda Village area is debatable, although lettering on the window indicates that there is also a scrapbooking component to the business, which does seem to be a strange pairing.

Moreover, the Olinda Village shopping center is more than outdated--not only is it fifty years old and does not give much of an impression of being well-maintained, but it was built under the premise that it could successfully serve a small residential community.  It doesn't help, probably, that the building has its "back" turned to Carbon Canyon Road and is up on a slope, affecting its visibility.

In any case, we'll see in coming months whether the business has the customer base to stay viable.

Brea Fire Station #4 Grand Opening

On Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., a grand opening celebration was held for the grand opening of the revamped Station 4 of the Brea Fire Department in Olinda Village. 

From a very rudimentary outpost of long standing at the shopping center just off Carbon Canyon Road has developed a portable structure and a steel station house, as well as a container for the CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) organization.

After the obligatory speeches by fire officials and city leaders, visitors toured the facility, enjoyed a barbeque lunch and ice cream, and visited booths for the department, the CERT group and the Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council.

At about noon, there were probably seventy-five or more persons at the event, though after 1 p.m. the crowd thinned considerably.  Overall, the event seems to have gone very smoothly.

There was some controversy, however, about the extent to which the facility was considered accessible as required by ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) standards, especially regarding the portable building.  City staff determined that, because the building was not considered a fully public one, it did not need to meet those standards.  The station house can be used for public events, but accessible restrooms would only be available through rented porta-potties, rather than the constructed restrooms in the building.

Still, the presence of a better station, with more personnel and better equipment, as well as the remarkably well-equipped CERT container, which reflects the superior organizational skills of the folks who volunteer to serve (and city staff) in Brea, is an important part of the enhanced fire protection presence for Carbon Canyon.

Brea Fire Station #4 Grand Opening in Olinda Village This Saturday!

This Saturday, 6 September from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Fire Station #4 of the Brea Fire Department, which is in a two-year agreement of shared command with the Fullerton Fire Department, is having its grand opening at its location at 198 Olinda Place in the Olinda Village shopping center off Carbon Canyon Road.  Remarks by local officials will begin at 11:15 a.m.

There has been a small facility at the site for years, but a rehabilitation includes new structures and other improvements to the staff, which will also be staffed better from the human and material resources standpoints.

Click on the image to see it enlarged in a new window (easier to read the text!)

Given the near-disaster of the Freeway Complex Fire of November 2008, better fire protection for the entire Carbon Canyon area has been a big priority and this station enhancement is part of the effort.

Fire personnel from Brea will be serving up a barbeque, there will be site tours, and the Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council will have a presence along with the Brea CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) group.  Fire prevention and mitigation information will also be available.

Those interested in seeing the improved station are encouraged to come down, take a look, meet city and fire department leaders and see what is being done to strengthen fire protection in the Canyon.

Sol de México Closes in Olinda Village

This is hardly new news, having taken place a few weeks back, but Sol de México, a great family-owned Mexican restaurant in the Olinda Villa shopping center, closed its doors.

The restaurant business is a tough one, obviously, but operating one in the decaying center was, undoubtedly, doubly (triply?) difficult and it is perhaps amazing that the eatery lasted as long as it did.

The food there was really good, especially the camarones a la diabla (shrimp with spicy mole, or sauce), which this blogger had to take diablita (or about half-strength.)  The cheese enchiladas and the caldo de pescado (fish stew) were also excellent.  And, the chips were homemade, as was the salsa, which offered a citrus tang not often found.  An ice cold Negra Modelo was a nice complement to a meal.

The place had been called Las Redes for years, before it closed and was briefly replaced by an Italian restaurant that was quite good for as little as it lasted.  Now, Sol de México gave it a good run, but has left yet another empty storefront in the 1960s-era center that is an anomaly in these days of strip malls and flashy shopping centers.

Supporting family-owned restaurants is always a good idea in the face of greater and greater pressure by the big chains, but as with the Mongolian BBQ place that just closed in Chino Hills recently, the market is a tough one to survive in.

Thanks to the folks who ran Sol de México and gave it their best shot!