San Juan Capistrano, California, United States

History | Spanish era | Mexican era | American era | Geography | Economy : Top employers | Arts and culture | Government | Education | Media | Transport : Rail : Road

🇺🇸 San Juan Capistrano is a city in Orange County, California, located along the Orange Coast. San Juan Capistrano was founded by the Spanish in 1776, when St. Junípero Serra established Mission San Juan Capistrano. Extensive damage caused by the 1812 Capistrano earthquake caused the community to decline. Following the Mexican secularization act of 1833, the mission village officially became a town and was briefly renamed as San Juan de Argüello. Following the American Conquest of California, San Juan remained a small, rural town until the 20th century; the restoration of the mission in the 1910-20's transformed the town into a tourist destination and a backdrop for Hollywood films.

History The region was populated by the Acjachemen, referred to by the Spanish as Juaneños, an Indigenous Californian nation. They lived in the area for approximately 10,000 years, with some of their oldest villages being confirmed as over 9,600 years old. The mother village of Putuidem was located in what is now San Juan Capistrano, as well as the village of Acjacheme.

Spanish era The settlement that today is San Juan Capistrano began in 1776 when the Spanish Franciscan missionary Junípero Serra founded Mission San Juan Capistrano, the seventh of the Spanish missions in California. The mission was built less than 60 yards from the native village of Acjacheme, which was exploited as a source of labor for the mission. The mission was named after Saint John of Capistrano, a 14th-15th century Franciscan saint. The 1812 San Juan Capistrano earthquake resulted in the deaths of thirty-nine Acjachemen people, thirty-one of whom were women, when the stone church at the Mission collapsed.

Mexican era The Mexican Congress of the Union enacted the secularization of the Californian missions in 1833. In the mission period, 4,317 natives had been baptized at the mission (1,689 adults and 2,628 children). In that same period, 3,158 of those baptized had died. Some of the native people who survived the mission period continued to live at the mission for a short period after the secularization act, while others settled in the surrounding areas.

Each mission was appointed an administrator to oversee the transfer of the missions and their lands from the Franciscan Order to the Mexican authorities. Santiago Argüello, a member of a prominent family of Californios, was appointed administrator of Mission San Juan Capistrano. During his tenure, the community was briefly renamed "San Juan de Argüello", similar to what happened to San Juan Bautista in Northern California, which was briefly renamed "San Juan de Castro" after its administrator José Castro.

In 1844, Don Juan Forster and James McKinley purchased the former Mission San Juan Capistrano at public auction. Forster made his home there until 1864, when the mission was returned to the Catholic Church by President Abraham Lincoln.

American era Following the American Conquest of California, San Juan remained a relatively small and rural community until the end of the 19th century.

Padre O'Sullivan arrived in San Juan Capistrano in 1910 to recuperate from a recent stroke. He became fascinated by Mission San Juan Capistrano and soon set to work on rebuilding it a section at a time. O'Sullivan repaired the roof of the Serra Chapel using California sycamore logs to match those that were used in the original work. He brought in architect Arthur B. Benton of Los Angeles to strengthen the chapel walls through the addition of heavy masonry buttresses. The centerpiece of the chapel restoration was its retablo, imported from Barcelona in 1806 and donated by the Bishop of Los Angeles.

The restoration of the mission resulted in the town's emergence as a tourist destination, owing to its historic architectural style and proximity to the sea. The mission was used often in Hollywood productions, such as D. W. Griffith's 1910 western film The Two Brothers, the first film ever shot in Orange County. San Juan was incorporated as a city on April 19, 1961.

From 2009 to 2017, the cliff swallows did not make their famous annual springtime return to Mission San Juan Capistrano, instead migrating to the Chino Hills, north of San Juan. The swallows changed their route because the Mission is no longer the tallest building in the area due to urban sprawl, and thus stopped attracting the swallows for nesting. Mission San Juan Capistrano embarked on a program to facilitate the return of the swallows, first by using swallow calls to attract the birds and then by building artificial swallow nests for the birds to use. As of 2017, the swallows have returned home to Mission San Juan Capistrano and are still celebrated each year at the town's annual Swallows Day Parade and Mercado Street Fair. In 2018, the town celebrated its 80th annual Swallows Day Parade and Fiesta de las Golondrinas (Spanish: Festival of the Swallows). The event holds the title of being the longest-running and largest non-motorized parade west of the Mississippi.

Geography San Juan Capistrano is located in south Orange County and is bisected by Interstate 5.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 14.3 square miles (37 km²). 14.1 square miles (37 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²) of it (1.26%) is water.

Economy San Juan Capistrano is home to over 1,700 businesses.

Economy: Top employers According to a recent Financial Report the largest employers in the city include: 1 Capistrano Unified School District; 2 St. Margaret's Episcopal School; 3 Costco; 4 Ensign Services; 5 Brookdale San Juan Capistrano; 6 JSerra Catholic High School; 7 Fluidmaster Inc. HQ; 8 Marbella Country Club; 9 Target; 10 Capistrano Connections Academy.

Arts and culture San Juan Capistrano is also known for its cliff swallows. The protected birds return during migration, which originates in the town of Goya, Argentina, around St. Joseph's Day (March 19) each year. The day is celebrated by the city's annual Swallows' Day Parade and other festive events. The swallows leave around October 23, the former feast day of St. John of Capistrano. The 1940 hit song "When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano", written by Leon René, is a love song inspired by this annual event.

The Serra Chapel at the mission is the oldest in-use building in California. San Juan was also the site of one of the first places to produce Californian wine.

Putuidem Village, a 1.5-acre park (0.61 ha), is part of the original lands of the Acjachemen. Completed in 2021, it commemorates the history of the people called the Juaneño by the Spanish colonizers.

Government As of April 2022, the City Council members are: Derek Reeve (Mayor), Howard Hart (Mayor Pro Team), John Taylor, Sergio Farias, and Troy Bourne.

The current city manager is Benjamin Siegel.

In the California State Legislature, San Juan Capistrano is in the 36th Senate District, represented by Republican Janet Nguyen, and in the 74th Assembly District, represented by Republican Laurie Davies.

In the United States House of Representatives, San Juan Capistrano is in California's 49th congressional district, represented by Democrat Mike Levin.

Education San Juan Capistrano is served by the Capistrano Unified School District. In the 2007–08 academic year, San Juan Hills High School opened with about 600 freshman students. It is the city's only public high school, although a sizable portion of San Juan Capistrano's residents attend high schools in neighboring cities since many of those schools are also part of the Capistrano Unified School District.

San Juan has four public elementary schools (grades K–5): Del Obispo Elementary School, Harold Ambuehl Elementary School, Kinoshita Elementary School, and San Juan Elementary School. The local public middle school (grades 6–8) is Marco Forster Middle School. Capistrano Valley High School (grades 9–12) lies just outside of the city's borders, but serves many of the city's students. A public continuation high school, Junipero Serra High School, also serves the area.

San Juan also has six private, non-secular schools. Capistrano Valley Christian Schools (grades pre-K – 12), Saddleback Valley Christian School (grades pre-K – 12), St. Margaret's Episcopal School (grades pre-K – 12), and JSerra Catholic High School (grades 9–12). Mission Basilica School (grades K–8) is located on the historic Mission grounds, utilizes some of the historic buildings as classrooms, and is part of Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano. The other is Rancho Capistrano Christian School (grades K–8), located off Interstate 5 on Saddleback Church's south campus.

San Juan also has a private, secular school, Fairmont School (grade K - 12), located close to San Juan Capistrano Mission.

Media San Juan Capistrano is served by two newspapers, the Capistrano Valley News (owned by the Orange County Register) and The Capistrano Dispatch. The Capistrano Valley News runs once weekly on Thursdays and The Dispatch runs on the second and fourth Fridays of each month.

The San Juan Capistrano Patch, an online-only news website, also serves the city.

Transport The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) operates bus routes within the city, connecting it to other parts of Orange County.

Transport: Rail The San Juan Capistrano station is served by Amtrak and Metrolink. The station is located one block away from the historic San Juan Capistrano Mission next to Los Rios Street in downtown San Juan Capistrano. Its proximity to the city's tourist attractions makes it a popular stop during the summer months.

Transport: Road Interstate 5 (San Diego Freeway) has three interchanges completely located in the city (at Camino Capistrano, SR 74/Ortega Highway, and Junipero Serra Road), two interchanges partially located within the city (at SR 1/Camino las Ramblas (which is partially within Dana Point) as well as SR 73 (which is partially within Mission Viejo), and an additional northbound entrance ramp from Stonehill Drive and Camino Capistrano.

Pacific Coast Highway is one of the most notable state routes in California. It is often incorrectly referenced that SR 1 terminates in nearby Dana Point because the city borders the Pacific Ocean (unlike San Juan Capistrano). In reality, SR 1 terminates shortly after it junctions with Interstate 5, crossing within San Juan Capistrano city limits (although this is a few hundred feet away from the city limits of Dana Point). There is an official SR 1 terminus sign on a traffic light pole along the southbound lanes on SR 1 shortly after crossing under Interstate 5 which is within San Juan Capistrano city limits.

California State Route 73 (San Joaquin Hills Toll Road) has its southern terminus at I-5 in San Juan Capistrano. There are no exits along SR 73 in San Juan Capistrano other than its junction with Interstate 5.

California State Route 74 has its official western terminus at Interstate 5 in San Juan Capistrano. The city-maintained road that continues west as Ortega Highway originally terminated at Camino Capistrano in front of Mission San Juan Capistrano; however, interchange reconstruction that was completed in 2015 brought Ortega Highway to continue onto Del Obispo Street towards Dana Point, with a right turn required to stay on the older portion of Ortega Highway.

The original route of U.S. 101 ran through downtown San Juan Capistrano on what is now Camino Capistrano. It was decommissioned when Interstate 5 was completed in the 1950s.

California - Palm Springs 
California - Palm Springs
Image: Adobe Stock photogolfer #400172415

San Juan Capistrano has a population of over 34,593 people. San Juan Capistrano also forms part of the wider Orange County which has a population of over 3,010,232 people. It is also a part of the larger Los Angeles metropolitan area. It is estimated there are around 1,700 businesses in San Juan Capistrano. San Juan Capistrano is situated 11 km north-west of San Clemente.

Twin Towns, Sister Cities San Juan Capistrano has links with:

🇮🇹 Capestrano, Italy 🇦🇷 Goya, Argentina
Text Atribution: Wikipedia Text under CC-BY-SA license

East of: -117.65

🇺🇸 San Clemente -117.617

🇺🇸 Rancho Cucamonga -117.576

🇺🇸 Corona -117.57

🇺🇸 Jurupa Valley -117.462

🇺🇸 Fontana -117.436

🇺🇸 Spokane -117.401

🇺🇸 Riverside -117.377

🇺🇸 Rialto -117.361

🇺🇸 Oceanside -117.357

🇺🇸 Carlsbad -117.344

West of: -117.65

🇺🇸 Ontario -117.652

🇺🇸 Upland -117.66

🇺🇸 Mission Viejo -117.667

🇺🇸 Chino -117.683

🇺🇸 Laguna Niguel -117.7

🇺🇸 Aliso Viejo -117.705

🇺🇸 Lake Forest -117.717

🇺🇸 Pomona -117.75

🇺🇸 Diamond Bar -117.814

🇺🇸 Yorba Linda -117.824

Antipodal to San Juan Capistrano is: 62.35,-33.483

Locations Near: San Juan Capistrano -117.65,33.4833

🇺🇸 San Clemente -117.617,33.433 d: 6.3  

🇺🇸 Laguna Niguel -117.7,33.517 d: 5.9  

🇺🇸 Aliso Viejo -117.705,33.568 d: 10.7  

🇺🇸 Mission Viejo -117.667,33.614 d: 14.7  

🇺🇸 Lake Forest -117.717,33.628 d: 17.2  

🇺🇸 Newport Coast -117.833,33.583 d: 20.3  

🇺🇸 Newport Beach -117.872,33.627 d: 26  

🇺🇸 Irvine -117.826,33.687 d: 27.9  

🇺🇸 Costa Mesa -117.916,33.634 d: 29.8  

🇺🇸 Santa Ana -117.874,33.705 d: 32.2  

Antipodal to: San Juan Capistrano 62.35,-33.483

🇲🇺 Mahébourg 57.7,-20.407 d: 18490.3  

🇫🇷 Saint-Pierre 55.478,-21.342 d: 18505.3  

🇲🇺 Curepipe 57.517,-20.317 d: 18475.2  

🇲🇺 Vacoas-Phoenix 57.493,-20.3 d: 18472.7  

🇲🇺 Centre de Flacq 57.718,-20.2 d: 18468.8  

🇲🇺 Quatre Bornes 57.479,-20.266 d: 18468.6  

🇫🇷 Saint-Benoît 55.713,-21.034 d: 18484.2  

🇲🇺 Beau Bassin-Rose Hill 57.471,-20.235 d: 18465  

🇲🇺 St Pierre 57.517,-20.217 d: 18464.5  

🇲🇺 Beau-Bassin Rose-Hill 57.467,-20.233 d: 18464.8  

Bing Map

Option 1