Walter Schmid was a farmer, businessman, real estate entrepreneur, and philanthropist in Orange County from 1902-1995. He established the Walter Schmid Center for International Business at Cal State Fullerton to promote international trade. Many entrepreneurs helped shape Orange County through various industries like agriculture, real estate development, transportation, and more. They established cities and communities, expanded irrigation, built attractions like Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm, and created companies like Fluor Corporation, Allergan, and William Lyon Homes. The Orange County Business History document provided an overview of over 50 entrepreneurs who contributed significantly to the growth and development of Orange County, California over centuries in industries like agriculture, transportation, real estate

1. ORANGECOUNTY
BUSINESS HISTORY
THESCHMIDCOLLECTION

2. Presented by: Aaron
Rosenberger
Sponsored by:
The WalterSchmid CenterforInternational Business

3. 1902-1995
Farmer, Businessman,
Real Estate
Entrepreneurand
Philanthropist
WalterSchmid

4. ENTREPRENEURS

5. Entrepreneur
Merriam-Webster’sdefinition of an Entrepreneur:
Entrepreneur: Onewho organizes, manages, and
assumestherisksof abusinessor enterprise.
http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/entrepreneur

6. Bernardo Yorba
Part of theYorbafamily
who built OrangeCounty’s
first house, outsideof
Mission San Juan Capistrano
Hecreated thefirst gravity-
driven irrigation system in
California

7. Hefounded Mission
San Juan Capistrano on
Nov. 1, 1776
Photo credit: San Diego Historical Society
FatherJunipero Serra

8. FatherJunipero Serra
Hefounded thefirst
nineof thetwenty-
onemissionsSpain
established in
California

9. George Hansen
Heshaped thecity of
Anaheiminto agrape-
growing community, which
wasshipping grapesto asfar
away asChinaby the1880’s

10. George Hansen
Dug afive-mileditch to provideirrigation for the
city of Anaheim

11. Founder of Irvine Ranch
He and his descendents
onceowned aquarter of
OrangeCounty
James Irvine

12. James Irvine
Hecreated theIrvine
Company which becamea
powerful forcein
agricultureand later real
estatedevelopment

13. Founder of Santa Ana
Contributed to thesplit of
OrangeCounty from Los
AngelesCounty
William Henry Spurgeon

14. President of thefirst Board
of Supervisorsfor Orange
County
Founder of Santa Ana
William Henry Spurgeon

15. The McFadden Brothers
Foundersof what isnow
known asNewport Beach
They operated oneof
Southern California’s
largest ship yards, ran their
own railroad line, and
worked in real estate

16. Richard O’Neill
Hebought a205,000 acre
ranch in 1882 someof which
would becomepartsof Orange
and San Diego Counties

17. Richard O’Neill
Mission Viejo and Rancho Santa Margarita were
built on O'Neill'sformer ranch.

18. George and Edward Amerige
Photo courtesy of the Fullerton Public Library Photo Courtesy of the Fullerton Public Library
Edward George
Founders
of theCity
of
Fullerton

19. George and Edward Amerige
They bought 430 acresof
land for approximately
$68,000 and established the
town of Fullertonon July 5,
1887

20. Clarence Utt
Heplanted thefirst citrustrees
in theLemon Heights area,
which becameTustinand
Santa Ana

21. Hehelped organizeand was
thefirst president of the
Tustin Unified School
District
Clarence Utt

22. Charles C. Chapman
First to ship Valencia
Oranges by rail
Photo Courtesy of Fullerton Public Library

23. Charles C. Chapman
Fullerton’sfirst Mayor
Established theFullerton
News in 1902

24. Chapman raised fundsto
bring Chapman College to
Orange.
Charles C. Chapman

25. Charles C. Chapman
TheCollegewasfirst incorporated under thename
California Christian College, and later changed to
Chapman College and isnow Chapman University

26. LewisMoulton bought
morethan 22,000 acresof
ranch land in South Orange
County
Hemarried NellieGail, an
accomplished painter
Lewis Moulton &Nellie Gail

27. Lewis Moulton &Nellie Gail
Shewasafounding
member of Laguna's
College of Art and
Design

28. NellieGail was president of
theLaguna art gallery
LagunaArt Museum
Lewis Moulton &Nellie Gail

29. Moulton Ranch
eventually became
Laguna Hills,
Laguna Niguel, and
Aliso Viejo
Lewis Moulton &Nellie Gail

30. Hehelped put threeOrange
County citieson themap:
Huntington Beach, Seal
Beach, and Stanton
Founded city of Stanton
Phillip Stanton

31. Built Seal Beach pier in 1906
Phillip Stanton

32. Established thePacific Electric
Railway
Bought land in areasnot yet
reached by existing public
transportation
Henry Huntington

33. Henry Huntington
Created trolley lines
connecting Orange
County cites

34. Hisrailroad put Bay City,
Pacific City, and Balboa on
themap
Henry Huntington

35. Henry Huntington
Helped createthecitiesof Seal
Beach, Huntington Beach, and
Newport Beach

36. Glenn Martin
Madethefirst successful
flight in Californiahistory

37. Built abiplanedesign
and assembled it in an
abandoned church in
SantaAna
On August 1, 1909 his
planeflew afew feet
off theground for 12
seconds
Glenn Martin

38. Turned Laguna Beach
into thepremier art
colony of Southern
California
Frank Cuprien

39. Founded theLaguna
Beach Art
Association
Transformed the
town’scommunity
center into an art
gallery
Frank Cuprien

40. Joseph Allen Beck
Hestarted thefirst ferry servicebetween Newport Beach
and Balboa Island

41. Joseph Allen Beck
In 1920, thefirst car wasferried acrossthebay for
10 cents

42. Ferry servicescontinueto thisday with three64
ft. boatsthat can carry threecarseach time
Joseph Allen Beck

43. Started with small
berry farm in Buena
Park
Walterand Cordelia Knott

44. Grew aroadside
chicken dinner
businessinto two
full-fledged
restaurants
Walterand Cordelia Knott

45. They created aGhost Town
to keep customersbusy who
often waited hoursto eat at
their restaurant
Walterand Cordelia Knott

46. ThisGhost Town
turned into
America’sfirst
modern amusement
park, now known
asKnott’s Berry
Farm
Walterand Cordelia Knott

47. A civil engineer
who wasactivein
OrangeCounty for
fifty years
Courtesy of the Orange County Register
Nat Neff

48. Nat Neff
In 1914, hewas
appointed Division
Engineer of theOrange
County highway
department

49. Nat Neff
Responsiblefor engineering theSanta Ana (I-
5) Freeway, HarborBoulevard, Ortega
Highway, and thePrado Dam

50. Started asmall family-run contracting firm on Main
St. in SantaAna
John Simon FluorSr.

51. Hiscompany expanded into
theworldwideconstruction
giant known asFluor
Corporation
Fluor Corporation built the
Alaska Pipeline
John Simon FluorSr.

52. Founded asmall airfield that
evolved into today’sJohn
Wayne Airport.
Eddie Martin

53. Hesold Orange
County Airport in
1937
Hestarted Martin
Aviation, a
manufacturer of
uniqueaircrafts
Eddie Martin

54. Created theCity of San Clemente
Photo courtesy of San Clemente Historical Society
Ole Hanson

55. Ole Hanson
In 1925, Hanson and his
salesteam sold thefirst lots
in San Clementefrom a
small salestent in the
middleof thecity

56. Ole Hanson
By theend of their first day,
$125,000 worth of property
had been purchased

57. SisterElizabeth Lirette
First administrator at St. Joseph’s
Hospital of Orange, shewas
influential in making thehospital
what it istoday

58. SisterElizabeth Lirette
Sheworked with other ministriessuch as Taller
San Jose, which aidsuneducated and unskilled
Latinosin gaining an education

59. R.C. Hoiles
Raymond Cyrus
Hoilesbought the
Orange County
Registerin 1935

60. R.C. Hoiles
R.C. invited Register
readersto engagein
public dialogue

61. Founded Carl’s Jr.
Drive-Up Restaurants
Carl Karcher

62. Carl Karcher
Opened hisfirst full-servicerestaurant in Anaheim,
Carl’s Drive-In Barbeque

63. Carl Karcher
2004 Carl’s Jr.® restaurant chain earned revenues
of approximately $1.4 billion

64. Co-founded Orco, a
concrete-block
company in Santa
Anain 1946
PeterMuth

65. PeterMuth
Orco becameoneof thenation’slargest manufacturers
of concreteblocks
Copyright © 2004 Robert A. Hansen

66. An accomplished baker, shelaunched her legendary
piebusinessin OrangeCounty
Marie Callenderand son Donald

67. Marie Callendarand son Donald
Thefirst pieand coffeeshop opened in Orangein 1964
and therestaurantsweresold for 90 million dollars in
1986
Images courtesy of mariespies.com

68. Founder of Fender
Guitars
Leo Fender

69. Leo Fender
Created thelegendary Telecasterand Stratocaster
Fender wasinducted into both theRock and Roll
and Country Music halls of fame

70. Theworld’slargest
limabean producer
Opened South
Coast Plaza of
Costa Mesa in
1967
Henry Segerstrom

71. Henry Segerstrom
Founder of South Coast Plaza, which generates
almost $1 Billion in annual sales

72. Founded Fleetwood
Enterprises, Inc., producersof
recreational vehicles,
headquartered in Riverside
John C. Crean

73. John C. Crean
Fleetwood Enterprises isoneof thenation’s
largest producersof recreational vehiclesand isthe
leader in building, retailing, and financing
manufactured homes
Images courtesy of Fleetwood.com

74. Founder of William Lyon
Homes Inc., which isnow
oneof thenation’slargest
homebuilders
William Lyon

75. William Lyon
Co-purchased Aircal in 1981 and sold it fiveyears
later for a$150 million dollar profit

76. Surfboard designer
Hisboard designsmadea
lasting impact of thesport of
surfing
Hobie Alter

77. Hobie Alter
Also designed theHobie 14 Catamaranthat
revolutionized thesailing world

78. Oneof themost influential
inventorsof the20th
century
Founded National Technical
Laboratories, now known as
Beckman CoulterInc.
Arnold Beckman

79. Arnold Beckman
Hereceived multipleawards, including induction into
theNational Inventors Hall of Fame

80. Built theworld
famous, million-
dollar Crystal
Cathedral of Garden
Grove
Reverend Robert H. Schuller

81. Reverend Robert H. Schuller
Heisthefounder, leader, star, chief fundraiser, and
largest donor to hisreligiousempire

82. Creator/Founder of Disneyland
Walt Disney

83. Walt Disney
In 1955, Anaheimorangegrovesbecame
Disneyland, which now attractsmorethan 13
million visitorsayear

84. Instrumental to the
founding of the
University of
California, Irvine
Joan Irvine Smith

85. Joan Irvine Smith
Shefought Irvine Ranchboard membersfor a
1,000 acredonation of theranch to build University
of California, Irvine

86. Inventor who moved to SantaAnain 1957
Holder of 63 patents
M. Lowell Edwards

87. M. Lowell Edwards
Founder of Edwards Laboratories, now known as
Edwards LifeSciences Corporation
Thesuccessof hismedical center established
OrangeCounty asacenter of thehealth industry

88. Pharmacist who formulated a
concoction of nasal dropsto
fight congestion
Theformulabecameknown as
Allergan
Gavin Herbert

89. Gavin Herbert
Started hisown pharmacy in OrangeCounty and
becameoneof theworld’sleading pharmaceutical
firms

90. Ross W. Cortese
Builder of theLeisure World communitiesin Orange
County and acrossthenation

91. Ross W. Cortese
Bought 3,000 acresat Moulton
Ranchwherehebuilt Leisure
World Laguna Hills
In 1963 Cortesewasnamed builder
of theyear by theNational
Association of Home Builders

92. Transformed
Birtcher
Development &
Investment
Company into one
of thelargest
commercial-
property managers
of thenation
Art Birtcher

93. Art Birtcher
Reshaped Southern Californiathrough high-profile
developmentssuch asthe$200 million Xerox
Centerin SantaAna

94. Land baron who built much of Orangecounty starting in
1958 with Bren Co.
Bren developed his
building empirethat
culminated with his
ownership of theIrvine
Company
Donald Bren

95. Established the
Don Koll
Company, Inc.
Donald Koll

96. Donald Koll
TheDon Koll Company isaspecializesin the
construction of custom homesand multi-tenant
industrial businessparks

97. Changed hisfamily owned
businessfrom Orange
County Title to First
American Title
Donald Kennedy

98. Donald Kennedy
First Americanisnow aFortune500 enterpriseand
wasvalued at $2.2 billion in 2004

99. Hefounded Arnel
Development
Company in 1968
Owned Seattle
Mariners from
1981-1989
George Argyros

100. George Argyros
Former Chairman of
the Board of Trustees
at hisalmamater,
Chapman University
Ambassador to Spain

101. Hasfivestarson the
Hollywood Walk of Fame
Courtesy of the Gene Autry Collection
Gene Autry

102. Gene Autry
Purchased theLos Angeles Angels, at thetimea
new expansion team
Moved theAngelsto Anaheim

103. Co-founded thecompany
Ceradyne Incorporated
in 1967
Joel Moskowitz

104. Joel Moskowitz
Ceradyne Incorporated isan advanced technical
ceramic corporation
Named Ernst &Young Entrepreneur of theYear in
OrangeCounty

105. OrangeCounty residents
who created atrans-pacific
oil kingdom from Tokyo to
Singaporeand back to
California
Harold and Betty Hutton

106. Harold and Betty Hutton
Philanthropists, supporting anumber of
organizationsincluding theHarold Hutton Sports
Centerat Chapman University in 1978

107. Founded clothing lineSt. John
Knits Inc. from their garagein the
San Fernando Valley
Kelly Gray
Gray Family

108. Gray Family
In their first year they madenearly $100,000 in
sales, and they now post profitsof almost $400
million per year

109. Developer of Little Saigonin
Westminster
Courtesy of Eugene Garcia, Orange County Register
Frank Jao

110. Frank Jao
Renovated asection of Westminsterinto
America’slargest and most established Vietnamese
community
Courtesy of daytrippen.com

111. Founded Anaheim
Trucking Company
Former Mayor of Anaheim
Charlie Pearson

112. Founded Oakley
Inc.
Jim Jannard

113. Jim Jannard
Introduced new featuresto sunglassesincluding:
hingelessarms, tougher lenses, and titanium
castings
Forbeslisted Jannard’snet worth at $1.5 billion in
2005

114. Fernando Niebla
Founded Infotec Development
which focuses on designing large
computer networks for the defense
department
Philanthropist who interests
includetheHispanic
Education Endowment Fund

115. Created theLeatherby
Insurance Company
Founded Unicare Financial
Corporation
Ralph Leatherby

116. Ralph Leatherby
Founded The CenterforEntrepreneurship and
Business Ethics at Chapman University
Endowed theLeatherby Libraries at Chapman
University

117. Donald R. Beall
President and chief
executiveof Rockwell
International

118. Donald R. Beall
Transformed Rockwell from amilitary-based
company to atechnological-driven firm
Rockwell becameNASA’sleading contractor for
thespaceshuttleprogram

119. WalterB. Gerken
Chairman at Pacific
Life and Annuity
Company of Newport
Beach

120. WalterB. Gerken
Founded "PIMCO" Pacific Investment
Management Company LLCin 1971
Heendowed theWalter B. Gerken Chair Enterprise
and Society at UCI

121. James Doti
11th
President of Chapman University

122. James Doti
Chair of theAssociation for Independent California
Collegesand Universities
Hasraised endowment for Chapman University
from $36 million in 1994 to $175 million in 2005

123. Co-Founded computer
chip-engineering firm
Broadcomin 1991 in
Redondo Beach
Broadcom’s profits
roseto nearly $2 billion
ayear
Henry Samueli

124. Henry Samueli
Purchased the
Mighty Ducks
Hockey Team in
2005

125. Henry T. Nicholas
Co-Founded Broadcomin
1991
Hisnet worth isareported
$1.1 Billion

126. Resources
 The Orange County
Register’s 100 most
Influential Individuals of
Orange County
 Fullerton Public Library
 San Clemente Historical
Society
 The Gene Autry
Collection
 Daytrippen.com
 Eugene Garcia – Orange
County RegisterBack-In-
Style.com
 Max Dolberg
 Fleetword.com
 OCBook.com
 SFGAMworld.com
 Robert A. Hansen
 Mariespies.com
 Chapman Department of
PublicationsResources:

127. Special Thanks to:
WaltmarFoundation,
Directorof WaltmarFoundation Dr. Shauna Farley
Dr. Pradip K. Shukla
Dr. Lynne M. Pierson Doti
Craig Williams
and Korey Ward