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City Info
Irvine is an incorporated city in Orange County, California, United States. It is a planned city, mainly developed by the Irvine Company since the 1960s. Formally incorporated on December 28, 1971, the 69.7 square mile (180.5 km?)[citation needed] city has a population of about 209,806 (as of January 1, 2008) . It has annexed in the past an undeveloped area to the north, and has also annexed the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, most of which is planned to be converted into the Orange County Great Park. In June 2008, the Federal Bureau of Investigation reported that Irvine had the lowest violent crime rate (four homicides, 17 rapes, 50 robberies and 55 aggravated assaults in 2006) among cities in the United States with populations of more than 100,000, and in August 2008 the Census Bureau ranked Irvine as having the seventh highest median income among cities in the United States with populations of more than 65,000.
Irvine is home to the University of California, Irvine (UCI), Concordia University, the Orange County Center of the University of Southern California, and the Irvine campuses of Alliant International University, California State University Fullerton, and Pepperdine University. Irvine Valley College, a community college, is also located in the city. Irvine is home to a number of corporations, particularly in the technology sector.
Irvine was inhabited by the Gabrielino indigenous group about 2,000 years ago. Gaspar de Portol?, a Spanish explorer, came to the area in 1769. This brought on the establishment of forts, missions and herds of cattle. The King of Spain parceled out land for missions and private use.
After Mexico's independence from Spain in 1821, the Mexican government secularized the missions and assumed control of the lands. It began distributing the land to Mexican citizens who applied for grants. Three large Spanish/Mexican grants made up the land that later became the Irvine Ranch: Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana, Rancho San Joaquin and Rancho Lomas de Santiago.
In 1864, Jose Sepulveda, owner of Rancho San Joaquin sold 50,000 acres (200 km2) to Benjamin and Thomas Flint, Llewellyn Bixby and James Irvine for $18,000 to resolve debts due to the Great Drought. In 1866, Irvine, Flint and Bixby acquired 47,000-acre (190 km2) Rancho Lomas de Santiago for $7,000. After the Mexican-American war the land of Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana fell prey to tangled titles. In 1868, the ranch was divided among four claimants as part of a lawsuit: Flint, Bixby and Irvine. The ranches were devoted to sheep grazing. However, in 1870, tenant farming was permitted.
