Costa Mesa—a vibrant city of 69 years with a population of 111,000 in 2021, according to census data—grew from a small Spanish settlement into the hub of arts and culture in Orange County.
The region’s first inhabitants were a Native American tribe called the Yukup who settled along the banks of the Santa Ana River, according to the Costa Mesa Historical Society.
Orange County cities Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, and Costa Mesa are seen along Santa Ana River on Dec. 23, 1974. (Courtesy of Orange County Archives)
Later in 1776, Spanish settlers founded Mission San Juan Capistrano, which covered the modern-day cities of Costa Mesa and San Juan Capistrano. The settlers used the fertile grasslands of the Costa Mesa area as a grazing ground for their cattle….