Category: History

This building dates back to sometime around 1794. In 2009 The Society bagan a restoration project. Jose Maria Silvas rebuilt it in 1868. In 1871, Silvas married Maria Manuela de Jesus Yorba, daughter of Domingo Yorba and Catalina Olivares. Click here for a full article on some of the history, and the restoration work done by the society.

The Historical Society raised funds to create the Richard Henry Dana statue in the Dana Point Harbor. With the help of the Mission Docents, funds were raised for the restoration of the Father Serra and Indian boy statue at Mission San Juan Capistrano. A bronze plaque in the Sacred Garden at the Mission was placed to honor Paul Arbiso, bell ringer of the mission for more than 60 years. Mr. Arbiso was also the Patriarch of the City of San Juan for 23 years.

The Society is presently raising funds to develop the Los Rios Historic Center, consisting of the O’Neill Museum, Leck House, Silvas Adobe and an old board and batten house on the property.

The Garcia/Pryor residence, now known as the O’Neill Museum, was built between 1870 and 1880 by Jose Garcia, a saloon owner, for his wife, Refugio Yorba. It was one of the first frame houses in San Juan Capistrano and was originally located on the lot directly behind the present El Adobe de Capistrano Restaurant. Unfortunately, Garcia was murdered in 1896 by a man known as Mestizo”, who was tried and convicted. He was sentenced to hang, but the sentence was reduced to life in prison. This sentence was also reduced and he was free in a few years. A story circulated in town that several prominent citizens wanted the land at Forster and Camino Capistrano streets on which Garcia’s saloon was located and had paid “Mestizo” to kill Garcia. Nothing was ever proven against any of the town’s citizens.

In 1903 Albert Pryor purchased the house from the Garcia family and he and his family lived there until 1955. Pryor spent many hours on the porch of the house, watching the children and the trains. He suffered a bad stroke in the middle fifties and the house was rented periodically. The “ghost” of Albert Pryor was supposed to sit on the porch occasionally and smoke a cigar. This usually frightened the tenants away.

Finally, in 1976, the Cornwell family, who owned the El Adobe Restaurant at that time, donated the building to the San Juan Capistrano Historical Society. The Society raised funds in order to move the house across the railroad tracks to a new location on Los Rios Street. The property was leased from the Oyharzabal family who has since donated the property to the Society. With lots of sweat, blisters, and aching joints the members of the Society restored the house and furnished it with period furniture. The cost was over $100,000. The O’Neill family donated $60,000 and the Society raised matching funds. The building became know as the O’Neill Museum in honor of Marguerite O’Neill, revered member of the O’Neill family who kept Rancho Mission Viejo from being sold.

The house was originally constructed as a four-room home with no bath or kitchen (most cooking was done outdoors). About 1895 a bathroom was created in the back bedroom, closets were made from space in the front bedroom and other alterations were made. In the 1920s the kitchen was added although it still did not include a stove.

Today the Museum also is the San Juan Capistrano Historical Society headquarters and the center of all its archives of photos, books, documents, maps, genealogical records, oral histories and much more.

The old Santa Fe Railroad Dept has long been an integral part of San Juan’s history and lore. It all began in 1887 when a railroad track was laid through town to connect Los Angeles and San Diego. First, a Nordic-style wood frame building was erected, and then replaced in 1894 by the present day Mission-style building. The new brick depot was at first only a small cube with a bell tower, telegraph office, waiting room, and storage room for freight. The roof tiles are believed to have come from the Mission ruins.

The Depot has been the scene of any number of events, some historic and some with a degree of levity. Memorable is when our town drunk fell asleep in the middle of the tracks and had a train ride over him. He never received a scratch but complained about being awakened when some friends ran from the Mexico Lindo Bar nearby to see if he was okay. Earlier in 1889, Modesta Avila strung her laundry across the tracks to protest the railroad’s existence and was sentenced to San Quentin for her misdeeds. Then there was the time when in evenings after the dispatcher left for home and someone wanted to board a train, they would put a washtub alongside the tracks and lit a fire to signal the train to stop.

In 1925 San Juan was the scene of the last great train robbery in Orange County. One evening as the train was traveling slowly through town; a robber jumped to the ladder on the side of a car, climbed on top, kicked through a side glass window, then shot down into the car and wounded the attendant. He lowered himself down a rope ladder, broke a mail car door window and reached through to un-latch the door and gain access. He rifled the mail pouches and strongbox then jumped off the train and presumably caught a southbound train. The wounded attendant later was found and rushed to the hospital, but passed away. It was discovered that only five dollars was taken from the strongbox but $2,100 was stolen from the mail sacks. Despite offers of rewards, the robber/killer was never apprehended.

Then there was an event of a different sort in the 1980s, when former Mayor Larry Bucheim and some friends dressed up as deputies with badges and side arms. They boarded the train in Santa Ana with two guys bound in handcuffs. The train conductor wanted to know what this was all about and Larry said they had just rounded up these two unseemly miscreants and had to take them to San Juan Capistrano to be tried in our local courthouse (which we didn’t have). The conductor had them ride in the back end of the train but this did not stop the passengers from going out of their way to see what was happening.

When the train stopped at our Depot, up rode a large group of cowboys with their guns prominently displayed. They boarded the train and forced “the deputies” out and made them lie down on the pavement. They took their guns and the two desperados and rode off quickly out of town. Pandemonium broke out with the passengers, train crew, and visitors around the depot. It took quite a while for Larry to explain that everything was all right and just San Juan’s way of celebrating the return of the Swallows to the Mission.

On September 25, 1942, during WWII, a special train arrived unannounced but soon it became apparent that President Franklin D. Roosevelt was on board. Earlier the town had been aroused when Marines arrived in trucks, surrounded the Depot, and some were even posted on top of nearby buildings with machine guns. A limousine picked up the President at the Depot; he was then driven to the Mission and paused by Father Arthur Hutchison to be blessed. Roosevelt then went on to Camp Pendleton for a visit.

Traveling by train ceased in the ‘50s and the Depot was boarded up from 1966 to 1974. Next came the restaurant period. Several came and went, but it wasn’t until the present operators moved their restaurant Sarducci’s to the Depot that a restaurant at this location became successful. Traveling by train started again when Amtrak and Metrolink began to provide service in the 1990’s.

The Egan House, located across from El Adobe de Capistrano Restaurant, was constructed in 1883. After a fire in 1897 destroyed the upper part of the structure, it was rebuilt in 1898. The house is a Victorian/Greek Revival building. It was built of terra cotta brick brought from San Diego. The bricks were “left over” from a slight “miscalculation” on the part of Richard Egan when he was ordering the bricks for Casa Grande. Casa Grande was the former home of Marcos Forster family on El Camino Real and which torn down in 1965.

Judge Richard Egan was born in Ireland and settled in San Juan Capistrano in 1868. He purchased 160 acres at $1.25 an acre on the north end of town on Camino Capistrano. He later sold the land to R. Y. and W. B. Williams for $60,000. He first lived in an adobe on this ranch, but the adobe was later washed away in a flood.

Guests on Judge Egan’s porch.

Lady in middle, top row, is Madame Helena Modjeska, renowned Polish actress.

In 1883 Egan built this house and named it Harmony Hall. It was known for the social activities of Judge Egan which included balls, picnics, dinners and parties. The Judge was also a landowner, farmer, telegrapher, notary, surveyor, agent for nearby landowners, keeper of rainfall records, dispenser of charity to the needy, and a Justice of the Peace. From 1870 to1890 Judge Egan’s name did not need to be on the ballot for him to be re-elected.

Egan was also a Los Angeles County Supervisor from 1885 to 1889. When Orange County was formed, he was instrumental in defining the boundaries between the two counties. Judge Egan was also instrumental in securing rights of way for the Santa Fe Railroad in town.

When the house had a fire in 1897, much of Judge Egan’s historical collection of documents and artifacts was destroyed. When he passed away the remainder of his collection was taken by his heirs back east and since has been unable to locate their whereabouts. William English, a well-known contractor of the period built this Victorian/Greek Revival one and one-half story house. It has a shingled roof and dormer windows, four rooms downstairs and two rooms in the attic which were used for Egan’s elegant balls. In the basement was a wine cellar. The house still has the original mahogany floors.

Over the years the house has changed ownership many times and became at times an office, galleria, restaurant, boutique and now a restaurant once again.