Laguna Beach City Council
May 13, 2026

HISTORIC RESOURCES ASSESSMENT
31526 VALIDO ROAD, LAGUNA BEACH
NOVEMBER 22, 2024
Attachment 9
271

PREPARED FOR
City of Laguna Beach
Community Development Department
Heather Steven, Senior Planner
505 Forest Avenue
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
272

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................... 2

2.0 REGULATORY FRAMEWORK ................................................................................................ 3 HISTORICAL RESOURCES UNDER CEQA ......................................................................................................... 3 HISTORIC DESIGNATIONS ....................................................................................................................................... 3 HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE AND INTEGRITY ..................................................................................................... 6

3.0 HISTORIC RESOURCES ASSESSMENT ................................................................................. 9 PREVIOUS SURVEYS AND EVALUATIONS....................................................................................................... 9 HISTORIC CONTEXT ................................................................................................................................................ 10 OWNERSHIP AND DEVELOPMENT HISTORY ............................................................................................. 24 ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION ....................................................................................................................... 27

4.0 EVALUATION OF ELIGIBILITY ............................................................................................. 29 EVALUATION OF HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE ................................................................................................ 29 EVALUATION OF INTEGRITY .............................................................................................................................. 31 CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................................................. 32

4.0 REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................... 34 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................................................................... 34 Appendix A: Building Permit History ..................................................................................................................... 36 Appendix B: Maps and Historic Aerials ................................................................................................................. 37 Appendix C: Assessor Records ................................................................................................................................. 45 Appendix D: Historic Images .................................................................................................................................... 50 Appendix E: Existing Conditions Photographs ................................................................................................... 56 273
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 2

1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
31526 Valido Road is a single-family residential property constructed beginning ca. 1909 and built out in 1928. It is located on the property where pioneer resident Willam F. Egan established a homestead in 1910. The property is now located near the intersection of West Sreet and Valido Road in the residential neighborhood of South Laguna in the City of Laguna Beach. The subject property is being evaluated for potential historic significance and eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and the California Register of Historical Resources. A review of existing documentation on the development of the property, including historic newspaper accounts, census and city directory records, historic aerials, Orange County Archives, and the property’s permit history as provided by the city were completed. A site visit was conducted on October 24, 2024.

The property was not identified during the 1980-81 Laguna Beach Historic Resources Survey and is not listed in the Historic Resources Inventory. It is not currently listed in the Laguna Beach Historic Register. A formal historic assessment is required to determine the historic significance and integrity of the residence. This assessment will evaluate the property to determine if it is considered a historic resource as set forth in the City’s Historic Preservation Ordinance. For CEQA purposes in Laguna Beach, a historic resource is defined as a property that meets California Register of Historical Resources criteria.

This report was prepared by Laura Janssen, Senior Architectural Historian, and Mariana Ruiz, Architectural Historian, with support from Robby Aranguren, GIS/Technical Specialist, all of whom meet the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualification Standards in Architectural History, Historic Preservation, History and/or Historic Preservation Planning.
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Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 3

2.0 REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
Historical Resources Under CEQA
The California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) is the principal statute governing environmental review of projects occurring in the state and is codified in Public Resources Code (PRC) Section 21000 et seq. CEQA requires lead agencies to determine if a proposed project would have a significant effect on the environment, including significant effects on historical or unique archaeological resources. Under CEQA Section 21084.1, a project that may cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a historical resource is a project that may have a significant effect on the environment.

CEQA Guidelines Section 15064.5 recognizes that historical resources include: (1) resources listed in, or determined to be eligible by the State Historical Resources Commission, for listing in the California Register of Historical Resources; (2) resources included in a local register of historical resources, as defined in PRC Section 5020.1(k) or identified as significant in a historical resource survey meeting the requirements of PRC Section 5024.1(g); and (3) any objects, buildings, structures, sites, areas, places, records, or manuscripts which a lead agency determines to be historically significant or significant in the architectural, engineering, scientific, economic, agricultural, educational, social, political, military, or cultural annals of California by the lead agency, provided the lead agency’s determination is supported by substantial evidence in light of the whole record.

Historic Designations
A property may be designated as historic by national, state, and local authorities. Current designations available in Laguna Beach include the National Register of Historic Places, the California Register of Historical Resources, and the Laguna Beach Historic Register.

While some programs place emphasis on architectural character, all use basic criteria relating to a property’s place in important events or patterns of development, association with important personages, and architectural significance. This assessment is limited to determining eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and the California Register of Historical Resources.

The City of Laguna Beach recently amended their Historic Preservation Program, and the City Council adopted a new ordinance on April 26, 2022, which updated Chapter

25.45 of the Laguna Beach Municipal Code. It was certified by the California Coastal Commission on July 13, 2022. The revised Historic Preservation Ordinance includes four key elements: (1) a definition of the term “Historic Resource” was added; (2) “owner consent” was added to the criteria for eligibility; (3) references to the outdated 1981 Historic Resources Inventory were eliminated; and (4) expanded historic preservation 275
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 4 incentives were added.1
Section 25.45.004 of the Laguna Beach Municipal Code defines a historic resource according to the following: “Historic resource” means a property or structure that (1) is listed in the City’s historic register, (2) is listed in the California Register of Historical Resources, (3) has been officially determined to be eligible for the California Register of Historical Resources by the State Historical Resource Commission, (4) is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, (5) has been officially determined to be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service, or (6) the City is mandated by law to treat as a historic resource based on substantial evidence in light of the whole record. Generally, a resource shall be considered to be “historically significant” if the resource meets the criteria for listing in the California Register of Historical Resources.2
This assessment will evaluate the property to determine if it is considered a historic resource as set forth in the City’s Historic Preservation Ordinance. For CEQA purposes in Laguna Beach, a historic resource is defined as a property that meets California Register of Historical Resources criteria.

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
The National Register of Historic Places (National Register) is an authoritative guide to be used by Federal, State, and local governments, private groups, and citizens to identify the Nation’s cultural resources and to indicate what properties should be considered for protection from destruction or impairment.3 The National Park Service administers the National Register program. Listing in the National Register assists in preservation of historic properties in several ways including: recognition that a property is of significance to the nation, the state, or the community; consideration in the planning for federal or federally assisted projects; eligibility for federal tax benefits; and qualification for Federal assistance for historic preservation, when funds are available.

To be eligible for listing and/or listed in the National Register, a resource must possess significance in American history and culture, architecture, or archaeology. Listing in the National Register is primarily honorary and does not in and of itself provide protection of a historic resource. The primary effect of listing in the National Register on private owners of historic buildings is the availability of financial and tax incentives. In addition, for projects that receive Federal funding, a clearance process must be completed in accordance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Furthermore, 1 https://www.lagunabeachcity.net/government/
departments/community-development/planningzoning/historic-preservation 2 City of Laguna Beach Historic Preservation
Ordinance. Laguna Beach Municipal Code Chapter

25.45 Historic Preservation.
3 Code of Federal Regulations Title 36/Chapter 1/Part
60 (36CFR60), Section 60.2.
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Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 5 state and local regulations may apply to properties listed in the National Register.

The criteria for listing in the National Register follow established guidelines for determining the significance of properties. The quality of significance in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture is present in districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects:

A. That are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history; or
B. That are associated with the lives of persons significant in our past; or C. That embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or
D. That have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.4
In addition to meeting any or all of the criteria listed above, properties nominated must also possess sufficient historic integrity.

CALIFORNIA REGISTER OF HISTORICAL RESOURCES
The California Register of Historical Resources (California Register) is “an authoritative listing and guide to be used by State and local agencies, private groups, and citizens in identifying the existing historical resources of the State and to indicate which resources deserve to be protected, to the extent prudent and feasible, from substantial adverse change.”5 The California Register was enacted in 1992, and its regulations became official on January 1, 1998. The California Register is administered by the California Office of Historic Preservation (OHP). The criteria for eligibility for the California Register are based upon National Register criteria.6 Certain resources are determined to be automatically included in the California Register, including California properties formally determined eligible for, or listed in, the National Register. To be eligible for the California Register, a prehistoric or historic-period property must be significant at the local, state, and/or federal level under one or more of the following four criteria:
4 Code of Federal Regulations Title 36/Chapter 1/Part
60 (36CFR60), Section 60.3.
5 California Public Resources Code, Section 5024.1[a].
6 California Public Resources Code, Section 5024.1[b].
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Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 6

1. It is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of local or regional history or the cultural heritage of California or the United States; or

2. It is associated with the lives of persons important to local, California or national history; or

3. It embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, region or method of construction or represents the work of a master or possesses high artistic values; or

4. It has yielded, or has the potential to yield, information important to the prehistory or history of the local area, California or the nation.7 A resource eligible for the California Register must meet one of the criteria of significance described above and retain enough of its historic character or appearance (integrity) to be recognizable as a historical resource and to convey the reason for its significance.

Historic Significance and Integrity

SIGNIFICANCE
The definition of historic significance used by the California Office of Historic Preservation (OHP) in its administration of the California Register is based upon the definition used by the National Park Service for the National Register.

Historic significance is defined as the importance of a property to the history, architecture, archaeology, engineering, or culture of a community, state, or the nation.8 It is achieved in several ways:
 Association with important events, activities or patterns  Association with important persons
 Distinctive physical characteristics of design, construction, or form  Potential to yield important information
A property may be significant individually or as part of a grouping of properties.

In addition to the above criteria, significance is defined by the area of history in which the property made important contributions and by the period of time when these contributions were made.9 The National Park Service defines this period of time as the period of significance.
7 Criterion 4 addresses potential archaeological
resources, which is outside the scope of this
assessment.
8 National Register Bulletin 16A. How to Complete the
National Register Registration Form (Washington
D.C.: National Park Service, United States
Department of the Interior 1997),
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/uploa
d/NRB16A-Complete.pdf (accessed August 2024).
9 National Register Bulletin 16A: How to Complete the
National Register Nomination Form.
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Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 7 The period of significance is the length of time when a property was associated with important events, activities or persons, or attained the characteristics which qualify it for listing. The period of significance usually begins with the date when significant activities or events began giving the property its historic significance; this is often a date of construction.10
The period of significance usually begins with the date when significant activities or events began, giving the property its historic significance; this is often a date of construction. The period of significance can be as brief as a single year; many, however, span many years and consist of beginning and closing dates. Identification and definition of the period is based on “specific events directly related to the significance of the property,” for example, the date of construction, years of ownership, or length of operation as a particular entity.

INTEGRITY
Historic integrity is the ability of a property to convey its significance and is defined as the “authenticity of a property’s historic identity, evidenced by the survival of physical characteristics that existed during the property’s historic period.”11 The National Park Service defines seven aspects of integrity: location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. These qualities are defined as follows:
 Location is the place where the historic property was constructed or the place where the historic event took place.
 Design is the combination of elements that create the form, plan, space, structure, and style of a property.
 Setting is the physical environment of a historic property.  Materials are the physical elements that were combined or deposited during a particular period of time and in a particular pattern or configuration to form a historic property.
 Workmanship is the physical evidence of the crafts of a particular culture or people during any given period in history or prehistory.  Feeling is a property’s expression of the aesthetic or historic sense of a particular period of time.
 Association is the direct link between an important historic event or person and a historic property.
10 National Register Bulletin 16A: How to Complete
the National Register Nomination Form.
11 National Register Bulletin 16A. How to Complete the
National Register Registration Form.
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Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 8 To retain historic integrity a property will always possess several, and usually most, of the aspects. It is not necessary for a property to retain all its historic physical features or characteristics. However, the property must retain the essential physical features that enable it to convey its historic identity.

CHARACTER-DEFINING FEATURES
Every historic building is unique, with its own identity and its own distinctive character.

Character-defining features are those visual aspects and physical features or elements, constructed during the property’s period of significance, which give the building its historic character and contribute to the integrity of the property. Character-defining features should be considered in the planning and design of a project to preserve them to the maximum extent possible. Character-defining features can identify the building as an example of a specific building type, usually related to the building’s function; they can exemplify the use of specific materials or methods of construction or embody a historical period or architectural style; and they can convey the sense of time and place in buildings associated with significant events or people. 280
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 9

3.0 HISTORIC RESOURCES ASSESSMENT
Previous Surveys and Evaluations
1980-1981 LAGUNA BEACH HISTORIC RESOURCES SURVEY
The Laguna Beach Historic Resources Survey (1980-1981) was a city-wide block-byblock study to note the location of pre-1940 buildings and to determine which had historic significance. The Historic Survey was made possible by a matching grant from the County of Orange and the State Office of Historic Preservation. The grant was given to the Environmental Coalition of Orange County, Inc. with the approval of the Laguna Beach City Council. The Survey Coordinator was Kathy Les. A portion of the work was subcontracted to the Laguna Beach Historical Society.12 In April 2022, the City Council approved a revised Historic Preservation Program, which was certified by the California Coastal Commission in July 2022. The new ordinance no longer assigns a rating of “E,” “K,” or “C” to historical resources and all references to the Historic Resources Inventory have been eliminated.13 Properties previously considered eligible for the Laguna Beach Historic Register because they were listed in the Inventory are no longer automatically eligible. Properties must be reassessed according to the revised historic preservation ordinance.

The subject property at 31526 Valido Road was not identified during the survey because the residence was not easily accessible from the public right-of-way and was not listed in the Laguna Beach Historic Resources Inventory, adopted in December 1982.14

BUILT ENVIRONMENT RESOURCES DIRECTORY (BERD)
The California Office of Historic Preservation (OHP) maintains the Built Environment Resources Directory (BERD), a database of previously evaluated resources throughout the state. The BERD contains information only for cultural resources that have been processed through OHP. This includes resources reviewed for eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places and the California Historical Landmarks programs through federal and state environmental compliance laws, and resources nominated under federal and state registration programs.15
Because the property was not identified during the Laguna Beach Historic Resources 12 Laguna Beach Historic Survey Board Records. MSR98. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California.
https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt2h4nb12j/
13 Laguna Beach Municipal Code, Chapter 25.45
Historic Preservation, 25.45.004 General Provisions.
https://qcode.us/codes/lagunabeach/?view=desktop&
topic=25-25_45-25_45_004
14 “City of Laguna Beach Historic Resources
Inventory” (Resolution No. 82.111), adopted
December 21, 1982.
15 “Built Environment Resource Directory, Los
Angeles County,” California Office of Historic
Preservation, 2022.
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Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 10 Survey it was not listed in the BERD.

Historic Context
To qualify for historic designation, a property must be significant; that is, it must represent a significant part of the history, architecture, archeology, engineering, or culture of an area, and it must have the characteristics that make it a good representative of properties associated with that aspect of the past. The significance of a historic property can be judged and explained only when it is evaluated within its historic context. A historic context consists of those patterns or trends in history by which a specific occurrence, property, or site is understood and its meaning – and ultimately its significance – within history is made clear.16 The subject property will be evaluated for potential historic significance under the following contexts, themes, and sub-themes based on National Register and California Register criteria.

The subject property has the potential to be significant for its association with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of local or regional history or the cultural heritage of California or the United States; is associated with the lives of persons important to local, California or national history; or for having distinctive physical characteristics of a particular architectural style or property type, or represents the work of a master architect or possesses high artistic values.

The property at 31526 Valido Road is located in a residential neighborhood in South Laguna. The property was originally government land and was claimed as a 40-acre homestead in 1910 by William F. Egan, a farmer from Spadra (now Pomona), California.

Egan farmed the land with his uncle James M. Shrewsbury who claimed an adjoining 160-acre homestead. The earliest homestead in South Laguna was claimed in 1871. But there were still a few plots available when Egan and Shrewsbury started making trips to South Laguna to camp in the early 1900s. Egan built a one-room cabin on the land ca. 1909, which was expanded into a two bedroom cottage by 1928. William Egan died in 1930, and portions of the homestead were slowly sold off by his wife Bertie Egan, who lived full time in the cottage until her death in 1949. The two Egan daughters retained the cottage until the mid-1950s. The cottage has survived two additional owners with some minor alterations but still retains its essential form and massing from 1928. 16 United States Department of the Interior, National
Park Service, National Register Bulletin 15: How to
Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation
(Washington, DC: 1990; revised for Internet 1995), 7,
NRB-15_web508.pdf (nps.gov) (accessed August
2024).
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Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 11 Location map for 31526 Valido Road. Source: Google Earth, 2024.

Boundary of 1910 Egan Homestead and location of the Egan Residence (31526 Valido Road). Source: Google Earth, 2024.
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Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 12

SOUTH LAGUNA
South Laguna, originally a small, unincorporated beach community in Orange County, was annexed by the City of Laguna Beach in 1987.17 Homes in South Laguna are set into the hillside or perched on a cliff overlooking the beach. Few houses are situated on level lots, and the overwhelming majority of South Laguna homes are cottages and bungalows, hastily built as beach homes that have been continuously remodeled.

The first subdivision in South Laguna was Coast Royal. Leon W. Goff sold his 153-acre homestead claim of coastal land to partners Blanche L. Dolph and Priestly Hall for $700 in 1903.18 In 1906, Priestly Hall deeded the 153 acres of coastal property to Horace J.

Pullen for $100,000 in promissory notes, to be developed as a townsite for a millionaire’s summer resort.19 Blanche Dolph, as co-owner, was unaware of the deal and filed a suit in Superior Court for a half-interest in the land.20 The suit ultimately killed the development and South Laguna remained relatively undeveloped through the 1910s. By 1920, the population of Laguna Beach and South Laguna was 363 persons, not including the Aliso-Capistrano area.21 South Laguna was still underdeveloped, and the only buildings between the Thurston Ranch in Aliso Canyon and San Juan Capistrano were two homes built by William F. Egan, the Robert Anderson home, several shacks in Skunk Hallow, and the Buchheim home at Salt Creek – a total of about eight dwellings.22 In 1924, the Skidmore Brothers of Laguna Beach received the subdivision for Coast Royal and took steps to develop the property. The subdivision formally opened on September 7, 1924, with the Henry P. Barbour Company as the selling agent.23 Advertisements in the Los Angeles newspapers announced the sale of large home sites which ranged from $1,000 to $35,000 with easy terms and featured water utilities and paved roads following the contours of the hillside. Of special interest was the completion of an eighty-foot wide roadway under construction as part of the Coast Highway, from Santa Barbara through Laguna Beach, spanning the length of Coast Royal, to San Juan Capistrano where it would rejoin the coastal road to San Diego.24 This highway would bring Laguna Beach and South Laguna much closer to Los Angeles than the present route through Santa Ana. By mid-1926, the Skidmore Brothers advertised 17 Because South Laguna was an unincorporated part
of Orange County for most of its history, it was not
covered by Sanborn Fire Insurance maps, nor was it
comprehensively covered in South Orange County
directories. Three neighborhoods made up Three
Arches (now South Laguna): Coast Royal, South
Laguna, and Three Arches Bay. There appears to be
some overlap in the boundaries for these
neighborhoods.
18 “Soars Does Land On Beach,” The Los Angeles
Times, August 8, 1906; J.S. Thurston, “Laguna Beach:

Early Days,” (The History Press: Charleston), 1947.
19 “Revives Old Litigation,” The Los Angeles Times,
February 29, 1908.
20 “Soars Does Land On Beach,” The Los Angeles
Times, August 8, 1906.
21 Turnbull, “Three Arch Bay: An Illustrated History,”

43. 22 Turnbull, “Three Arch Bay: An Illustrated History,”

42. Henry Buchheim was a farmer and part of a
pioneering family who contributed to the agricultural
development of Orange County. He was based in
Santa Ana but had farmland in San Juan Capistrano
and Ventura.
23 “Opening!,” The Los Angeles Times, September 7,
1924.
24 “Opening!,” The Los Angeles Times, September 7,
1924; “Subdivisions and Subdividers,” The Los Angeles
Times, September 7, 1924.
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Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 13 Coast Royal as an “exclusive Pasadena colony” which was already home to twenty-eight Pasadena families, and offering private excursions with transportation and lunches to prospective buyers in the west San Gabriel Valley.25
The completion of the Coast Highway in the fall of 1926 further opened South Laguna to additional development. In 1927, promoters Lewis H. Lasley and Walter Bonynge subdivided the standard 120’ x 40’ lots in central South Laguna into smaller lots of 30’ x 40’.26 These smaller lots fetched a more affordable price, with signs reading “Lots from $200.”27 These small lots characterize the older South Laguna residential neighborhoods.

Water was brought from Laguna Beach by gravity, and it was collected in a 500-gallon tank on the property of Elmer Crawford on Catalina Street.28 After resigning from Security First National Bank in Santa Ana, Crawford relocated to South Laguana in 1928, and in 1932, the South Coast Water District was formed with Crawford as president.29 By 1928, the first commercial building was constructed in South Laguna, a six-room hotel. It was later converted into office space in 1935.30 Other commercial buildings constructed in the late 1920s included a small store on the corner of Third Street and Coast Highway, which was run by the Linkie family.31 A gas station was adjacent to the store, which was first run by Harlan Cox and then Ely Wilson.32 The southernmost area of South Laguna, Three Arch Bay, was initially developed by Lasley and Bonynge in 1926. Lasley called the area “The Palisades” and the dirt road that would become La Senda Drive was originally called Bonynge Road.33 In August 1926, Lasley advertised the pre-opening of Three Arch Palisades Tract with the sale of fifty lots, 40’ x 200’ and priced at $2,000, with financing terms.34 To provide water, Lasley developed a 90-foot well on North La Senada Drive, and erected a pumphouse.35 The poor quality of the water; however, led to the development of a second well on South La Senda Drive.36 The Automobile Club of Southern California published a review of Three Arch Bay in the summer 1927, highlighting the coast road to South Laguna.37 The article described Three Arch Bay as “scenic coves…with clean, sandy shore, and colorful cliffs appeal[ing] to artists and recreational seeker[s].”38 In 1929, Lasley advertised 100 home sites with restricted beach access in Three Arch Bay.39 25 “A Special Invitation,” The Pasadena Post, August
27, 1926.
26 Turnbull, “Three Arch Bay: An Illustrated History,”

43. 27 Turnbull, “Three Arch Bay: An Illustrated History,”

43. 28 Glenn and Connie Wells, “Looking Back on South
Laguna,” South Coast News, August 4, 1961.
29 Wells, “Looking Back on South Laguana.”
30 “Wells, Looking Back on South Laguana.”
31 Turnbull, “Three Arch Bay: An Illustrated History,”

43. 32 Turnbull, “Three Arch Bay: An Illustrated History,” 43; Wells, “Looking Back on South Laguana.”
33 Turnbull, “Three Arch Bay: An Illustrated History,”

38. 34 “Ocean Front Lots,” The Pasadena Post, August 16, 1926.
35 Turnbull, “Three Arch Bay: An Illustrated History,”

38. 36 Turnbull, “Three Arch Bay: An Illustrated History,”

39. 37 “Three Arches of Laguna Coast Charming,” The
Whittier News, July 16, 1927.
38 “Three Arches of Laguna Coast Charming.”
39 “100 Choice Lots Listed For Sale,” The Pasadena
Post, June 28, 1929.
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Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 14 Although efforts for development were set in place by Lasley and Bonynge, Three Arch Bay was still rural and underdeveloped by the late 1920s. In 1930, the Hallam Cooley Development Corp. purchased the Three Arch Bay property from Lasley and Bonynge and began selling lots in August 1930.40 The tract was described as “the most beautiful location on Laguna Coast. No hillside property. Every lot ocean front and ocean views [sic].”41 Lots were advertised at a price of $900, including “gas, water, electricity, curbs and paved streets.”42 The Hallam Cooley Development Corp. consisted of Hal Cooley, Dick Rowlands, and Dan O’Flaherty.43 They ran excursions for prospective buyers in the new tract, putting up tents along Bay Drive, and served lunch.44 Among the first houses built on the tract was a two-story dwelling for Hollywood movie producer, Edward Griffith and his wife, America, in 1929 by Casey (W.S.) Adamson.45 In July 1934, petitions for water mains in Three Arch Bay were signed by community leaders, including Ida Adams Grant, Elizabeth Cooley, Edward Griffith, Elmer Neher, and Clarence Dunbar.46 By 1936, there were twenty-five houses in Three Arch Bay.47 By 1940, the population of Laguna Beach reached 4,460 persons, a reported 125% increase in ten years by the Anaheim Bulletin.
48 In order to support the growing
community and secure water utilities, in 1941 the Laguna Beach Water District and the South Coast Water District joined the Newport Beach Irrigation District and the Newport Heights Irrigation District, to create a new territorial unit called the Coastal Municipal Water District.49 The newly consolidated district annexed to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California in 1942 to obtain water from the Colorado River.50 New infrastructure to carry water from the Laguna Beach north city limits to the South Laguna reservoirs, an approximate six-mile stretch, included a 16-inch transmission line and a new 500,000-gallon capacity reservoir on the east end of West Street, which was on the William F. Egan homestead.51 In 1944, Egan’s wife Bertie was sued in Superior Court by the South Coast Water District for condemnation of land to build the new reservoir tank.52 The property included a 230’ x 394’ parcel and road easements near West Street and Egan Road.53 The suit was successful, and by 1947, the new reservoir was built. Additional infrastructure improvements were made in 1947, including two reservoirs, a pumping 40 “Announcing the Opening of Three Arch Bay,” The
Progress Bulletin, August 13, 1930; “Looking Back on
South Laguana.”
41 “Announcing the Opening of Three Arch Bay.”
42 “Announcing the Opening of Three Arch Bay.”
43 “Looking Back on South Laguana.”
44 “Looking Back on South Laguana.”
45 “Looking Back on South Laguana.”
46 “Looking Back on South Laguana.”
47 “Looking Back on South Laguana.”
48 1960 US Census, Number of Inhabitants in
California Report, Table 8. Population of all
incorporated places and of unincorporated places of
1,000 or more: 1940-1960, 6-29. The unincorporated
town of South Laguna reported less than 0.1 percent
(or less than 100 people) in 1940; “Met District Offers Terms,” Anaheim Bulletin, August 20, 1940.
49 “South Laguna Water District Studies MWD
Annexation Plan,” The Santa Ana Register, March 25,
1942.
50 “South Laguna Water District Studies MWD
Annexation Plan,” The Santa Ana Register, March 25,
1942.
51 “South Laguna Water District Studies MWD
Annexation Plan.”
52 “Water District Files Suit to Obtain Property,” The
Santa Ana Register, April 8, 1944.
53 “Water District Files Suit to Obtain Property.”
286
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 15 station, additional distribution lines, hydrants, and house services.54 South Laguna underwent a second wave of development during the postwar period. In 1947, a new subdivision, called Unit No. 1 of the Aliso-Laguna Estates, was approved by the Orange County Planning Commission to develop sixty acres with 208 lots, approximately 900-feet inland from the Coast Highway on both sides of the Aliso Creek, by owner and developer Billy Bonds.55 The Commission approved the subdivision with several conditions, including a right-of-way for future access to Aliso Road from the east; construction of a road connecting to the subdivision with the Coast Highway at least 60-feet wide and improved to County standards; and a 36-foot standard width on all streets and bridges.56 In 1949, the commission also approved two additional developments at the northern limits of South Laguna near Treasure Island beach; one, a 350-lot tract from 377 acres on the east side of Coast Highway, owned by Dr. Paul H.

Esslinger, previously the Dolph property, and a second, a smaller 35-acre subdivision opposite the Esslinger tract, on the west side of Coast Highway, to replace the Treasure Island trailer park by owner Jacob U. Kuhns Jr.57 The Esslinger tract would include eighty lots for commercial use and the remainder for single and multi-family dwellings; it was later modified to minimize the tract into 261 lots.58 The Kuhns tract was originally designed as a private, planned community with seventy-four oceanfront lots restricted to architectural design guidelines, not for individual sale, but rather for lease.59 The community would include a clubhouse, and the tennis facilities would be made available to the residents of the community.60 A small area adjoining the Coast Highway would be retained as a business district to service the surrounding community.61 THE HOMESTEAD ACT OF 1862 AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE WEST62 South Laguna was originally government land that was opened for homesteading in the early 1870s. The Homestead Act was enacted in 1862 by President Abraham Lincoln as a means to demonopolize public land holdings and open the western states for development. In its early years of independence, the United States acquired by cessions a public domain in the West covering many millions of acres. This was vastly increased by the purchase of Louisiana, the acquisition of Florida, and the migration of Americans westward to the Pacific. These great open spaces, inhabited by a few hundred thousand Native Americans at the time, constituted a national treasure which was pledged for the 54 “Water Facilities Contract is Let,” The Santa Ana
Register, November 08, 1947.
55 “County Planners Give Approval To New
Subdivision in South Laguna,” The Santa Ana
Register, March 8, 1947.
56 “County Planners Give Approval To New
Subdivision in South Laguna.”
57 “Subdivision to Replace Trailer Park In Laguna
Beach,” The Santa Ana Register, February 22, 1949.
58 “Esslinger Sub-Division Approved by County
Planning Board,” Coastline Dispatch, March 25, 1949;
“Supervisors O.K. Tract,” Anaheim Bulletin,
September 3, 1952.
59 “Subdivision to Replace Trailer Park In Laguna
Beach.”
60 “Subdivision to Replace Trailer Park In Laguna
Beach.”
61 “Subdivision to Replace Trailer Park In Laguna
Beach.”
62 Information on the Homestead Act was largely
adapted from Paul W. Gates, Free Homesteads for All
Americans: The Homestead Act of 1862 (Civil War
Centennial Commission, 1962).
287
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 16 payment of the public debt, and was therefore to be used as a source of revenue for the government. To obtain income, surveys of the more eastern portion were undertaken, and the land was offered to buyers at $2 an acre. Wild land that was uncleared, unfenced, and lacking in accommodations was barely worth such a price, and sales were few even when credit was extended. Ultimately, the high minimum price of land delayed sales and the development of the West, making it difficult for pioneers to clear and establish farmland.63
Liberal land reformers introduced and supported free homesteading legislation into the House of Representatives. The House passed homestead bills in 1852, 1854, and 1859 and twice in 1860, while the Senate, dominated by the South, resisted. Finally in 1862, President Lincoln signed the Homestead Act into law, provided that any person, as the head of a family or at least 21 years of age, whether a citizen or an intended citizen, could claim 160 acres of the public domain for farming. Settlers were required to reside on the land and improved it for a period of five years to receive a land title upon the payment of small fees.64
Homesteading officially began on January 1, 1863, and in the first six months 8,223 original entries for an average of 126 acres were filed in forty-two offices scattered from Ohio to the Washington Territory. After the Civil War, homesteading claims largely increased and expanded into other western territories including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Michigan, and by 1870, Kansas, Arkansas, and Nebraska ranked highest in homesteading claims.65 By 1883 the number of new filings had reached 56,565. The West was growing with amazing speed, fed by thousands of families from the East Coast, the Midwest, and Europe. However, the land boom and the westward thrust of settlers produced a bitter conflict between the homesteaders and cattlemen. Night raiding and murder were prevalent, and the struggle brought about the end of the range-cattle industry. It also increased tension between Native American and white settlers that flamed into plains warfare, leading to the removal of Native American tribes from the better portions of their reservations, and opened their tracts to settlers.66 In conjunction with the Homestead Act to leverage western migration and promote an economic stimulus, the U.S. Government passed the Pacific Railway Act of 1862. Passed three months after the signing of the Homestead Act, this became the first national act promoting the growth of railroads. It called for the building of a transcontinental railroad that connected the Central Pacific Railroad from California to the Union Pacific Railroad in Nebraska.67 The Pacific Railway Act exemplifies a provision to the Homestead Act as 63 Gates, Free Homesteads for All Americans, 3.
64 Gates, Free Homesteads for All Americans, 6.
65 Gates, Free Homesteads for All Americans, 7.
66 Gates, Free Homesteads for All Americans, 8.
67 Christopher Bates, “Pacific Railway Act.”
Encyclopedia of American History: Civil War and
Reconstruction, 1856 to 1869. Ed. Gary B. Nash and
John Waugh. Revised ed. Vol. V. New York: Facts on
File, 2010. American History Online. Web. Dec. 13,
2012. As cited in Jacob Freund, “The Homestead Act
of 1862: The First Entitlement Program,” Journal of
the West 52, no. 6 (2013): 18.
288
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 17 it too granted public lands, but these specifically to the railroads. It allowed railroads to claim land in alternating 200-foot and 10-mile sections along the rail lines under construction. Under this act, a portion of land that was set aside by the Homestead Act was given to railroad companies so they could expand and grow. In total, the government gave railroad companies about 130 million acres of land, with the states adding another 50 million acres of land grants.68
Though the 160-acre homestead unit was well designed for farming in the regions east of the Missouri River, and for some distance into Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and North and South Dakota, it proved inadequate for farming as the frontier receded farther west. However, homesteaders could acquire a preemption claim of 160 acres for an additional $200; and after 1873, under the Timber Culture Act, they could gain a third quarter section by planting trees on 40 acres. The system, made more flexible by these provisions, thus adapted to the Great Plains. Misuse of these acts, however, led to their repeal in 1891. Yet settlers could legitimately add to their holdings by purchases from the huge land grants made to railroads or states, and by consolidating homesteads when it appeared that the 160-acre farms were too small for efficient operation.69 In California, large caravans of settlers arrived after the Gold Rush of 1848. Enticed by the preemptive land laws of 1841, which allowed any male citizen a claim to 160 acres of unappropriated public land and gave individual families more than sufficient land on which to maintain a home in California’s fertile valleys. This law, contained as one of its main provisions, a clause to the effect that Native American rights to the land must be terminated. It also eliminated lands known to be mineral rich. The preemptor paid the government the minimum price set on such land which was generally $1.25 per acre or less. The Homestead Act, freely giving 160 acres of land to each settler, followed essentially the provisions of the Preemption Act, requiring residence and good faith on the part of the settler in the development of the land as a permanent home.70 Unfortunately, the commutation clause of the Homestead Act was responsible for the mismanagement of public lands. Many thousands of homesteads that were formally patented were ultimately transferred to cattle ranchers, lumber companies, or capitalists who had hired agents to make the entries, and who had bribed Federal land officials. The clause permitted homesteaders at the conclusion of six months residence on the land, to commute their entry to a preemption claim. This would confer a title and enable them to sell it to others. Homesteaders using this road to ownership were hired by wealthy businessmen to make their entries, commute them, and transfer the 68 Benson, Sonia G., Jennifer York Stock, and Carol
Brennan, eds. “Railroads: The First Big Business.”
Development of the Industrial U.S. Reference Library.

Vol. 1. Detroit: UXL, 2006. 68–83. Gale Virtual
Reference Library. Web. Dec. 15, 2012. As cited in
Freund, “The Homestead Act of 1862: The First
Entitlement Program,” 19.
69 Gates, Free Homesteads for All Americans, 9.
70 William S. Brown and S.B. Show, California Rural
Land Use and Management (United States
Department of Agriculture, 1944), 97-98.
289
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 18 ownership.71 After 1880, commutation and the sale of relinquishments became increasingly common. In the rush to locate tracts, homesteaders frequently made selections that soon proved ill adapted to farming and subsequently had to be abandoned. Relinquishments, abandonments, and commutations prevented slightly more than half of all the original homestead filings from reaching patent as free land, though some of the homesteaders gained title through commutation.72 Ultimately, the Homestead Act provided a unique opportunity to develop farms or ranches suitable for agriculture, as well as much that was not, throughout the western frontier. Although nearly half of those who tried to create farms on the vast western domain failed, the other half succeeded and made the United States the greatest surplus food producing nation in the world. The rush of homesteaders (and of miners who also were attracted to the West by the Government’s liberal policy toward mineral lands) had populated unclaimed public land in established states and created thirteen new states. Most important of all, however, was the fact that the Homestead Act and its successors had permitted nearly 1,500,000 families to acquire the dignity of independence in farm ownership.73

HOMESTEADERS IN SOUTH LAGUNA
Most of Laguna Beach was not part of the of the Spanish (1784), and later Mexican (1824), land grant system that created the Ranchos in California. These large parcels of land in what would become Los Angeles, then Orange County, were used primarily for raising cattle. To establish boundaries, surveys were done on horseback and sometimes there was land between the Ranchos that was not claimed. California became a state in 1848, and land not claimed reverted to the government. These “no grant” public lands were surveyed beginning in 1855, and in 1875 one surveyor noted the triangle of land that would become Laguna Beach had very little value because of its rocky terrain and salty springs.

Through the Homestead Act of 1862 and later the Timber-Culture Act of 1871, individuals and families seeking opportunities began to arrive at Laguna Beach and stake out their 160-acre claims of farmland or plant the required 40 acres of trees under the Timber-Culture Act. In Laguna Beach, the Australian eucalyptus was prominently planted and overgrown in the 1880s, which helped form the character of Laguna and added much-needed shade; however, their use as lumber was impractical. The groves grew so prodigiously that in the 1910s, eucalyptus trees had to be cut down by the dozens to carve out space for the growing community.74
71 Gates, Free Homesteads for All Americans, 9.
72 Gates, Free Homesteads for All Americans, 10.
73 Gates, Free Homesteads for All Americans, 12.
74 Karen Turnbull, “A Short History of Laguna Beach”,
https://www.lightheaded.com/asite/laguna/laguna_history/laguna_beac h_history.php, accessed November 2024.
290
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 19 In 1871, Eugene Salter was the first American settler of South Laguna. He claimed 152 acres of Aliso Canyon, but shortly thereafter he moved away, and his land with a oneroom shack was claimed by George Thurston, Sr. and his wife and Sarah in 1879.75 The Thurstons farmed the land, growing vegetables and melons to sell in Los Angeles, which was then a five-day trip by wagon. Other early homesteaders in South Laguna include Leon W. Goff Sr. in 1884, Lafayette Thurston and George Thurston, Jr. in 1891, and William F. Egan and James M. Shrewsbury in 1910 and 1911, respectively.76 These homesteaders claimed land parcels from Aliso Canyon south to Three Arch Bay. In central South Laguna, Leon W. Goff sold his 153-acre claim of coastal land to partners Blanche L. Dolph and Priestly Hall for $700 in 1903, before returning to Missouri.77 Just north of the Dolph property, William F. Egan and his uncle, James M. Shrewsbury, took up a claim on 200 acres of land extending from approximately what is now West Street to 10th Avenue in 1910 and 1911.78 Egan’s forty square acres bounded Blanche Dolph’s property to the south, Thurston’s claim in Aliso Canyon to the west, and Shrewsbury’s claim to the north and east.79 Together, Egan and Shrewsbury farmed the land and grew melons, string beans, lima beans, and squash to sell at markets in Los Angeles and San Francisco.80
Egan built two of the first three homes in South Laguna; the Egan house (31526 Valido Road) ca. 1909, and the Shrewsbury house (not extant) near what is now Providence Mission Hospital.81 Between these two homes was a temporary shack of a Mexican farm laborer who worked for the Egans.82 The third home in South Laguna and the nearest dwelling to Three Arch Bay at the turn of the century, belonged to Robert Anderson, which stood alone at the top of 9th Avenue (not extant) on land Egan had sold to him.83 During the teen years, the area was still undeveloped, dotted with grazing cattle from the nearby Moulton ranch, and farmland belonging to the Egan and Shrewsbury family.84 The Egan homestead transitioned from rural land when the Egan family slowly began selling portions of the property. By 1950, residential development was more profitable than farming and two subdivisions were planned north of West Street, Tract No. 1243 75 Turnbull, “A Short History of Laguna Beach.”
76 Beryl Wilson Viebeck, Homestead Map Overlays
Modern Streets, Laguna Beach Historical Society.
77 “Soars Does Land On Beach,” The Los Angeles
Times, August 8, 1906; J.S. Thurston, “Laguna Beach:

Early Days,” (The History Press: Charleston), 1947.
78 US Department Bureau of Land Management,
Patent #027766 for 40 acres granted to William F.

Egan, Issue Date 1/17/1910; US Department Bureau
of Land Management, Patent #170682 for 160 acres
granted to James M. Shrewsbury, Issue Date
1/16/1911.
79 1913 Laguna Road Distract Map, OC Archives.
80 “50 Cents Pound Received For Early Beans,” The
Santa Ana Register, April 10, 1920.
81 Karen Wilson Turnbull, “Three Arch Bay: An
Illustrated History,” (Friss-Pioneer Press: Santa Ana), 1977, 35. James Shrewsbury was living with his
mother Nancy Shrewsbury (Egan’s grandmother) at
the time.
82 Turnbull, “Three Arch Bay: An Illustrated History,”

35. 83 Turnbull, “Three Arch Bay: An Illustrated History,”

35. Glenn and Connie Wells, “Looking Back on South
Laguna,” South Coast News, August 4, 1961.
84 Turnbull, “Three Arch Bay: An Illustrated History,”

36. 291
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 20 and Tract No. 702/713.85 Based on historic aerial photographs from 1960, residential development in central South Laguna, east and west of the Coast Highway, was well established. The two tracts on the Egan homestead, however, were not fully developed until the mid-1970s, although much of the hillside acreage north of the homestead was permanently left undeveloped as County owned land.86
WILLIAM F. EGAN (1862-1930)
William Fredrick Egan was born in 1862 in California to John Robert Egan, a blacksmith, and Jane Ann Egan (nee. Shrewsbury).87 John Egan was born in Kentucky and relocated to California in 1852. By 1870 the family was living in the San Jose township of Los Angeles County. The family relocated to Spadra, California (Pomona Valley) in 1876 where John Egan became the town blacksmith.88 Jane Ann (Shrewsbury) Egan died in 1874, and John Egan passed away in 1903.89
In 1880, William Egan was living with his grandmother, Nancy A. Shrewsbury, in Spadra and with his uncle James F. Shrewsbury and aunt Mary Shrewsbury Beach. He worked as a farm laborer on the Shrewsbury’s apiary farm.90 In the early 1900s, Egan and his uncle would take camping trips to Laguna Beach, and they first laid claim in 1902 to undeveloped land in South Laguna near Aliso Canyon.91 Camping in Laguna was an escape from the high summer heat of the inland communities and many early residents found that homesteading could provide additional income from the land they claimed.

The Homestead Act was designed to allow individuals to settle on and farm land. In Laguna farming was difficult because of the steep slopes, hills and canyons and profitable farming was rare. Most homesteads were converted into subdivisions and buildable lots. Shrewsbury and Egan decided on the former.

In 1909, William Egan married Alberta (Bertie) E. McCoy in Spadra.92 The couple honeymooned on Egan’s claim in South Laguna in a small one-room cabin Egan had constructed located between Salt Creek and Aliso Creek.93 In 1910, Egan made an official homestead claim to 40 acres of land just east of Aliso Canyon, and in 1911, Shrewsbury laid claim to 160 acres to the northeast of Egan’s land.94 Together, they 85 Orange County Assessor Map, Tract no. 1243, book
56, page 07; Orange County Assessor Map
no.702/713, book 56, page 06, March 1950.
86 1968 and 1976 Aerial photographs; Orange County
Assessor Records.
87 1870 US Census for William F. Egan, Ancestry.com,
accessed October 2024.
88 1870 US Census for William F. Egan, Ancestry.com,
accessed October 2024.
89 “John Robert Egan,” Pomona Daily Progress,
January 7, 1903.
90 1880 US Census for James Shrewsbury,
Ancestry.com, accessed November 2024.
91 Foley, “Mrs. Egan Spent Honeymoon Here on 200-
Acre Homestead,” South Coast News, September 30,
1948.
92 California Birth, Marriage, and Death Records,
1849-1980, for Bertie E. McCoy, accessed November
2024.
93 Bernice Foley, “Mrs. Egan Spent Honeymoon Here
on 200-Acre Homestead,” South Coast News,
September 30, 1948; “Found Missing Animal,”
Progress-Bulletin (Pomona, CA), August 28, 1915.
94 US Department Bureau of Land Management,
Patent #027766 for 40 acres granted to William F.

Egan, Issue Date 1/17/1910; US Department Bureau
of Land Management, Patent #170682 for 160 acres
292
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 21 acquired 200 acres spanning roughly from Aliso Canyon south to Honeycomb Canyon near current Fifth Avenue for $1.68 per acre.95
William and Bertie had two daughters, Frances M. Egan (1910-1996) and Esther W.

Egan (1912-2001).96 Between 1910 and 1914, the Egans predominantly resided in Spadra, where William was working as an apiarist and farmer.97 By 1915, the family divided their time between Spadra and South Laguna, where Egan and Shrewsbury farmed their land, growing string beans, melons, squash, and lima beans.98 Their farmland extended south of the Egan homestead to the Pacific Ocean, unto Blanche Dolph’s land.99 During the harvest season, they hired Mexican laborers who camped with their families under the cypress trees that used to line the wagon road that is now Coast Highway.100 Egan and Shrewsbury would harvest crops to ship to the Los Angeles and San Francisco markets, obtaining 50 cents per a pound for string beans in 1920.101 Picking beans, William F. Egan and James M. Shrewsbury in South Laguna, ca. 1915. Photo courtesy of Nancy Burnham and Deborrah Allen in memory of Howard Russel Hind and Esther Egan Hind; the South Laguna Civic Association.
granted to James M. Shrewsbury, Issue Date
1/16/1911.
95 Foley, “Mrs. Egan Spent Honeymoon Here on 200-
Acre Homestead,” South Coast News, September 30,
1948.
96 California Birth Index for Frances M. Egan and
Esther W. Egan, Ancestry.com, accessed October
2024.
97 1910 US Census for William F. Egan, Ancestry.com,
accessed October 2024; 1910-1912 Orange County
Voter Registration for William F. Egan, Ancestry.com,
accessed October 2024.
98 1914-1916 Orange County Voter Registration for
William F. Egan, Ancestry.com, accessed October
2024;
Foley, “Mrs. Egan Spent Honeymoon Here on 200-
Acre Homestead,” South Coast News, September 30,
1948.
99 Foley, “Mrs. Egan Spent Honeymoon Here on 200-
Acre Homestead,” South Coast News, September 30,
1948.
100 Foley, “Mrs. Egan Spent Honeymoon Here on 200-
Acre Homestead,” South Coast News, September 30,
1948.
101 “50 Cents Pound Received for Early Beans,” The
Santa Ana Register, April 10, 1920.
293
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 22 In July 1920, the Egans built a new home in Spadra. They split their time between their two homes until they made South Laguna their primary residence in 1928.102 Over the years the Egans expanded their South Laguna one-room cabin. About 1910, when their first daughter was born, they added a living room and bedroom, and in 1928, they added a dining room and guest room (to accommodate Egan’s aunt Mary Beach), finalizing the current L-shape plan of the house.103 William continued to farm the land until falling ill in October 1930.104 He died on December 27, 1930, and was interred in the family plot at the Spadra Cemetery.105
Frances and Esther Egan standing at the rear of the Egan house, ca. 1915. View looking towards the southeast.

Photo courtesy of Nancy Burnham and Deborrah Allen in memory of Howard Russel Hind and Esther Egan Hind; the South Laguna Civic Association.

Bertie Egan retained ownership of the property and began selling off portions of the homestead beginning in 1934 including portions to the South Coast Water District in 1937 and 1944, to build a water reservoir to the northeast of the property.106 Bertie Egan died on January 16, 1949, following several months of illness, and the Egan family home 102 “Enjoys Outing At Beaches,” Progress-Bulletin
(Pomona, CA), July 31, 1920; “Mrs. Bertie Egan,
Pioneer Resident, Expires Sunday,” South Coast
News, January 18, 1949.
103 Foley, “Mrs. Egan Spent Honeymoon Here on 200-
Acre Homestead,” South Coast News, September 30,
1948.
104 1930 US Census for William F. Egan,
Ancestry.com, accessed October 2024; “Coast Royal,”
South Coast News, October 21, 1930.
105 “Coast Pioneer Passes Saturday”, South Coast
News, January 2, 1931.
106 Chain of Title for 31526 Valido Road, Orange
County Archives; “Real Estate Transfer,” The Santa
Ana Register, May 19, 1937; “Water District Files Suit
To Obtain Property,” The Santa Ana Register, Apr 8,
1944.
294
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 23 was split between her daughters Frances and Esther Egan.107 The Egan family retained ownership of family home until it was sold in 1956.108
BEACH COTTAGE ARCHITECTURE (1910-1940)109
The Beach Cottage is one of the most predominant types of architecture found in Laguna Beach. As defined in the City’s Historic Resources Element, the Beach Cottage (1910-1940) is a type of vernacular architecture that developed as a result of the building boom in the 1920s.110 It is not a nationally recognized style of architecture but rather a property type that flourished in local beach communities. The construction of small vacation homes proliferated throughout Southern California beach communities with increasing personal wealth, the completion and expansion of the Pacific Electric Railway along the coast, and ownership of personal automobiles. Beach cottages were often constructed on a budget, as reflected in their informal design and use of materials, such as wood-frame construction with minimal architectural ornamentation. Generally, the type did not develop beyond the coastal communities and is a particularly characteristic property type in Laguna Beach and is the most prevalent architectural style in South Laguna.

The Beach Cottage is a simple structure generally one-story in height, rectangular in plan with wood siding including board-and-batten, clapboard or shingles, front or side porch, and a low-pitched gable roof. In Laguna Beach, because of its varied terrain, the beach cottage is found on level ground, in the hills, or cliffside.

Character defining features include:
 Rectangular plan
 Asymmetrical massing
 One-story in height
 Board-and-batten, shingle, or lap siding
 Simply framed square windows
 Low pitched gable roof
 Extended eaves with exposed rafters
 Porch or patio
107 “Mrs. Bertie Egan, Pioneer Resident, Expires
Sunday,” South Coast News, January 18, 1949; Chain
of Title for 31526 Valido Road, Orange County
Archives.
108 Chain of Title for 31526 Valido Road, Orange
County Archives.
109 Information on beach cottage architecture is
adapted from the Environmental Coalition of Orange
County, “Laguna Beach Historic Resources
Inventory,” April 1981
110 “City of Laguna Beach Historic Resources
Element,” adopted July 1981, amendment adopted by
City Council January 10, 2006, 19.
295
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 24 Ownership and Development History111
The property at 31526 Valido Road is currently located in Tract No. 702/713 (Por.

SW1/4, NW1/4, Sec. 5, T8S, R8W) north of West Street and west of Valido Road in South Laguna. The tract is one of two tracts developed ca. 1950 on the homestead legally claimed by William F. Egan in 1910.112 A small one-room cabin was built by William Egan ca. 1909 as a stipulation of the Homestead Act for laying claim to the land.

The building was expanded over the years into a residence to accommodate the needs of the Egan homestead and family.

As an unincorporated beach community until 1987, South Laguna did not retain a complete archive of building permits and original building permits for the residence do not exist and Orange County assessor records are inconclusive. Newspaper accounts of the period; however, note the original construction date as approximately 1909.113 It was reported that William and Bertie Egan honeymooned in a one-room cabin at the site after they were married in 1909. The small one-room cabin measured approximately 10’ x 16’ and ultimately became the kitchen of the residence when it was expanded ca. 1910 when their first daughter was born. A living room and bedroom were added at that time.

The residence was enlarged again in 1928 with the addition of a dining room and a guest bedroom. 114 Between 1914 and 1928, the Egans divided their time between South Laguna and Spadra, living several years at a stretch in either place. In 1928, they moved to South Laguna to live full time and settled into a life of hosting family and friends in their newly remodeled home.115 Egan’s aunt, Mary Beach, also moved in with them at this time.

Historic family photographs depict the evolution of the house. The original single-room cabin (ca. 1909) had a shed roof and staggered shake siding, and the first addition (ca. 1910) had a gable roof, roughly spaced board-and-batten siding, a brick chimney, and an elevated foundation.
111 Chain of Title for 237 Canyon Acres Drive, Laguna
Beach. Orange County Archives.
112 US Department Bureau of Land Management,
Patent #027766 for 40 acres granted to William F.

Egan, Issue Date 1/17/1910.
113 This report established the build date as ca. 1909
because it is known there was a building on the
property the year the Egan’s were married. However,
the date could be a few years earlier but there is no
documentation to support that claim.
114 Bernice Foley, “Mrs. Egan Spent Honeymoon here
on 200-Acre Homestead,” South Coast News,
September 30, 1948.
115 Mrs. Bertie Egan, Pioneer Resident Expires
Sunday,” South Coast News, January 18, 1949.
296
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 25 Egan homestead with original one-room cabin at the far left with shed roof, and the addition with brick chimney and gable roof to the right, ca. 1910. View looking towards the east. Photo courtesy of Nancy Burnham and Deborrah Allen in memory of Howard Russel Hind and Esther Egan Hind; the South Laguna Civic Association.

By 1928, photographs depict the second addition on the north side of the house filling the void between the existing structures and creating the L-shaped plan. The cottage was unified in design with updated windows, new board-and-batten siding, and a new roof structure with exposed rafter tails.

Egan homestead with addition and unified design, ca. 1928. View looking towards the northeast. Photo courtesy of Nancy Burnham and Deborrah Allen in memory of Howard Russel Hind and Esther Egan Hind; the South Laguna Civic Association.
297
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 26 Construction chronology for 31526 Valido Road. Google Earth, 2024.

William Egan died in December 1930, and Bertie retained ownership of the 40-acre homestead. In 1934, Bertie deeded a portion of the property to her daughter Esther Egan as a wedding gift. Esther married Howard R. Hind in 1935, and they built a home nearby in Coast Royal. Bertie sold a portion of the property to the South Coast Water District in 1937, and more was taken by eminent domain in 1944 to build a water reservoir.116 It appears a small addition used for laundry and storage was built onto the northeast facade ca. 1945.117 Bertie Egan died in January 1949, and her estate passed to her two daughters, Frances Egan Chatham and Esther Egan Hind. By 1950, they had sold a majority the homestead to developer Billy Bonds for two subdivisions north of West Street which would become Tract No. 1243 and No. 702/713.

The Egan house was sold in 1956 to Nelson and Edna L. Holmwood, husband and wife as joint tenants. They did not own the property for very long. Curtis D. and Elizabeth A.

Neiswender acquired the property in 1959.

The first documented work on the property was performed in 1958. Mr. and Mrs.

Neiswender contracted with Morgan Paving Co. to grade and pave the driveway from 116 “Real Estate Transfers,” The Santa Ana Register,
May 19, 1937; “Real Estate Transfers,” The Santa Ana
Register, January 17, 1937; “Water District Diles Suit
to Obtain Property,” The Santa Ana Register, April 8,
1944.
117 Reference aerial photographs from 1947, 1960,
1968, and 1976.
298
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 27 Valido Road and the parking area to the east of the cottage. Additional grading was done in 1961.118 In 1962, the County conducted street improvements to pave curbs and driveway approaches for private residences.119 About 1970, a small addition with a shed roof, aluminum windows, and a raised deck was added on the south facade.120 It appears the south wing had some alterations at this time including several wood windows were replaced with aluminum windows on the east and west facades of the south wing, and the board-and-batten siding was replaced with horizontal wood clapboard siding.

In 1996, a city inspection reported the illegal conversion of a carport into a garage.121 There is no permit for the carport or the garage, but a 1960 aerial photograph shows a detached structure to the southeast. The first building permit on record was issued in 2005 for reroofing the house and the detached garage with fiberglass shingles.122 In 2005, the property was transferred to the Trust of James W. O’Mara and Elizabeth A.

Neiswender, with James and Elizabeth as trustees. In 2021, the property was transferred to the Elizabeth A. Neiswender Separate Property Trust after the death of her husband James O’Mara. After the death of Elizabeth A. Neiswender in 2022, her successor trustees sold the property to Hongbin Peng, trustee of the P & C Family Trust.

A complete list of building permits for 31526 Valido Road is included in Appendix A, and detailed ownership information is included in Appendix C.

Architectural Description
The single-family one-story residence and detached garage at 31526 Valido Road in South Laguna is located on a polygonal lot which slopes down to the west and is bound by single-family residences to the east, south, and partially to the west. The north and northwest side of the parcel fronts the hillside, unobstructed by residential development. Valido Road is a narrow, curvilinear, residential street sloping west to the intersection of West Street and Catalina Avenue. Coast Highway is located approximately 900 feet from the intersection of Valido Road and West Street. The residence is deeply setback down a paved driveway from Valido Road and is not visible from the street.

The oldest portion of the residential cottage was initially constructed ca. 1909 with additions ca. 1910 and remodeled in 1928. The house has an L-shaped plan with a cross gabled roof, open eaves, and a partially elevated foundation. The exterior walls of the residence are clad with a combination of wood board-and-batten siding and wood 118 Morgan Paving Co. Invoice 963, October 14, 1958
and Invoice 1832, August 9, 1961.
119 County of Orange Highway Department, permit
no. 4793, December 26, 1962.
120 Reference aerial photographs from 1947, 1960,
1968, and 1976.
121 City of Laguna Beach Department of Community
Planning Complaint form, No. 96-006, January 8,
1996.
122 City of Laguna Beach Building Permit No. B05-
2491 and 2492, issued December 14, 2005.
299
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 28 clapboard siding. It appears the board-and-batten is original from the 1928 construction, while the horizontal siding is a later replacement. Fenestration consists primarily of wood sash and replacement aluminum sliding windows framed with simple flat wood surrounds. Some of the older wood windows have wood framed screens. An enclosed brick chimney is located near the cross gable in the roof where the ca. 1910 and 1928 additions meet.

The east (primary) facade is asymmetrical in composition, showing the intersection of the L-shaped plan. The entrance to the residence is located on the northeast extension of the L through a narrow enclosed porch with a wood framed screen door and wood sash windows. The entry features a non-original paneled door. This volume has wood board-and-batten and clapboard siding and is likely the original ca. 1909 portion of the house, although it has been significantly altered. According to an early photograph, the volume had shingle siding and a shed roof. The 1928 addition to the west appears to retain its original wood, board-and-batten siding and wood sash windows on the north and west facades. The ca. 1910 wing to the south has been substantially altered. It originally had narrow board-and-batten siding but was remodeled in 1928 with wider spaced battens and the original windows were replaced. It now has horizontal clapboard siding, and the 1928 windows have been replaced with large aluminum sliding windows.

The aluminum windows and clapboard siding appear to have been added ca. 1970 at the same time as the small addition on the south wing because the construction and appearance is all similar.

The detached two-car garage with a side gable roof is clad with wood board-and-batten siding. It replaced an unpermitted carport that was built ca. 1960. Mature trees and wild bushes and shrubs are overgrown throughout the property, and there is a simple concrete walkway along the north side of the parcel. There are remnants of low stone walls in the rear yard.
300
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 29

4.0 EVALUATION OF ELIGIBILITY
The subject property at 31526 Valido Road will be evaluated against relevant contexts and themes and according to established criteria for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and the California Register of Historical Resources. A period of significance of ca. 1909-1928 has been established which indicates the date when the original cabin was constructed to the date when the last significant addition was added in 1928 by the Egan family. This was also the period when William F. Egan claimed the homestead and was actively farming the land.

Evaluation of Historic Significance
CRITERION A/1
To be considered for listing under Criterion A/1, a property must be associated with one or more events, important in the defined historic context. Criterion A/1 recognizes properties associated with single events, such as the founding of a town, or with a pattern of events, repeated activities, or historic trends. The event or trends, however, must clearly be important within the associated context. The property must have an important association with the event or historic trends, and it must retain historic integrity.

The single-family residence that would become 31526 Valido Road was originally constructed ca. 1909 on unclaimed government land in South Laguna. William F. Egan, a farmer from Spadra (Pomona), California, would officially claim the land the following year in 1910 as a homestead. The Homestead Act of 1862 gave ownership to 160 acres of land provided the applicant filed the necessary paperwork, improved the land with a structure 12’ x 14’, grew crops, and lived on the land for a minimum of five years.

William Egan claimed 40-acres of land and his uncle James M. Shrewsbury claimed an adjoining 160-acres of land in 1911. Together, they acquired 200 acres spanning roughly from Aliso Canyon south to Honeycomb Canyon near current Fifth Avenue for $1.68 per acre. Between them, they had enough land to establish a profitable farming concern and proceeded to grow melons, string beans, lima beans, and squash to sell at markets in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Egan also built a one-room cabin on the land to satisfy the claim. That cabin would grow into a two-bedroom cottage by 1928. Initially, Egan and his wife Bertie split their time between Spadra and South Laguna. They expanded the cabin ca. 1910 when their first daughter Frances was born by adding a living room and bedroom. In 1928, they added a dining room and guest room, finalizing the current Lshaped plan of the house, and they made South Laguna their primary residence. William Egan passed away in 1930 and Bertie died in 1949. The Egan daughters sold the last of the homestead in 1956. The house has had two additional owners and has had some alterations, but it retains its original form and massing from 1928 and conveys its association with the Eagn homestead in South Laguna.
301
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 30 The Homestead Act drew many to settle in Laguna Beach. Farming was difficult because of the steep slopes, hills and canyons and profitable farming was rare. Most homesteads were converted into subdivisions and buildable lots. Eugene Salter, the first homesteader in South Laguna (1871) left after only a few years. He sold his land and cabin to George Thurston, Sr. in 1879. The Thurston family made a success farming the land and built a home in Aliso Canyon, but that house no longer exists. Leon W. Goff who claimed a homestead in 1884 eventually sold his claim to developers Blanche L.

Dolph and Priestly Hall in 1903.

William Egan built two of the first three homes in South Laguna; the Egan cabin ca. 1909, and the Shrewsbury house (not extant) near what is now Providence Mission Hospital. The third home in South Laguna belonged to Robert Anderson, which stood alone at the top of 9th Avenue (not extant) on land Egan had sold to him. It appears the Egan residence at 31526 Valido Road may be the last intact residence associated with homesteading in South Laguna still in existence on its original site.

The residential property at 31526 Valido Road was built by William F. Egan, an early homesteader in South Laguna who made a success of farming on the land he claimed in an area notoriously difficult to farm because of its hilly terrain. The residence is the last vestige of the pioneer spirit that brought homesteaders to the region in search of opportunity and a mild climate. The homesteads of South Laguna have all been subdivided and developed into rows and pockets of single-family homes, and while the Egan residence fits neatly into its found neighborhood, it is still an intact representation of the early homesteads in South Laguna and is significant under National Register Criterion A at the local level of significance and California Register Criterion 1.

CRITERION B/2
According to National Park Service guidance, properties may be significant for an association with the lives of persons significant in our past. Persons “significant in our past” refers to individuals whose activities are demonstrably important within a local, state, or national historic context. A property is not eligible if its only justification for significance is that it was owned or used by a person who was a member of an identifiable profession, class, or social or ethnic group. In addition, the property must be associated with a person’s productive life, reflecting the time period when he or she achieved significance. Properties that pre- or post-date an individual’s significant accomplishments are typically not eligible. Also, Criterion B/2 is generally restricted to properties that illustrate a person’s important achievements.

Homesteader and farmer William F. Egan claimed land in South Laguna in 1910. He built a cottage and developed a profitable farm, and his actions embody the original objective of the Homestead Act. While he is known as an early homesteader, he is not the first homesteader nor the most important homesteader in South Laguna. He kept a fairly low profile and was not involved in local, state or national affairs, and there is no 302
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 31 documentation to suggest he made a significant impact on local, state or national history.

Therefore, the Egan residence on Valido Road is not significant for its association with William F. Egan under National Register Criterion B or California Register Criterion 2.

CRITERION C/3
According to National Park Service guidance, Criterion C/3 applies to properties significant for their physical design or construction. To be eligible under Criterion C/3, a property must have distinctive characteristics of a particular type or architectural style, represent the work of a master, or possess high artistic value. The one-story single family residence at 31526 Valido Road was originally constructed ca. 1909 as a homestead cabin and it was enlarged in ca. 1910 and remodeled in 1928. It was self-built by William F. Egan and has the appearance of a hillside cottage; a modest home constructed with at-hand materials, simple wood frame construction and few decorative elements.

The residence is a typical example of a hillside cottage property type. It retains some original features, including wood board-and-batten siding, wood sash windows, onestory height, and L-shaped plan with cross gabled roof. Major alterations outside the period of significance include the replacement of board-and-batten siding with horizontal wood clapboard siding, and the alteration and replacement of several windows with aluminum sliding windows. The cottage is not unique in design or construction and does not possess the distinctive characteristics of a particular architectural style.

As a result, it is not an excellent or rare example of an architectural style or property type; it does not exhibit high quality of design or craftsmanship; it is not an important example of the work of a notable builder, designer, or architect; therefore, 31526 Valido Road is not significant under National Register Criterion C or California Register Criterion 3.

Evaluation of Integrity
Historical resources eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and the California Register of Historical Resources must meet one or more of the criteria of significance as described above and retain enough of their historic character or appearance (integrity) to be recognizable as historical resources and to convey the reasons for their significance. If a resource has been found that it does not meet one or more of the criteria of significance, it is not necessary to evaluate integrity. Eligibility is contingent on having significance and integrity. As noted above in the evaluation of significance, it was found the property meets criterion A/1; therefore, it will be evaluated for integrity.

As previously noted, the National Park Service defines seven aspects of integrity for 303
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 32 historical resources. These are location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. To retain historic integrity a property will always possess several, and usually most of the aspects. It is not necessary for a property to retain all its historic physical features or characteristics. However, the property must retain the essential physical features that enable it to convey its historic identity. The integrity of 31526 Valido Road is evaluated below based on these seven aspects.

The single-family residence at 31526 Valdo Road remains on its original site and therefore retains integrity of location. The setting has changed significantly since the residence was constructed and up through its period of significance (ca. 1909-1928).

Initially it was surrounded by farmland and even into the late 1930s there were few neighboring residences, whereas it is now surrounded by other single-family residences; therefore, the property does not retain integrity of setting. The cottage has had several alterations since its period of significance including the addition of a small utility room at the northeast corner of the cottage in the 1940s and the addition of a small addition with raised porch at the south wing in the 1970s. Several windows have been replaced and some of the wood board-and-batten siding has been replaced with wood clapboard siding. However, the property retains integrity of design, materials, workmanship and feeling because none of the alterations have diminished its ability to convey its significance. The residence retains its one-story form and massing and L=shaped plan from its period of significance and still has the appearance of the 1928 cottage associated with the Egan homestead and retains integrity of association.

Conclusion
This report has evaluated the single-family residence at 31526 Valido Road in South Laguna in the City of Laguna Beach for eligibility for designation as a historical resource.

The property was evaluated against the established eligibility criteria and integrity thresholds for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and the California Register of Historical Resources.

The property at 31526 Valido Road is significant under Criterion A/1 for its association with the Homestead Act of 1862. William F. Egan, a farmer from the inland community of Spadra, came to South Laguna in the early 1900s and discovered the opportunity to acquire land for the cost of building a small cabin and some sweat equity. He claimed 40 acres of land for himself in 1910, and his uncle James M. Shrewsbury claimed 160-acres of land in 1911. Together they established a successful farm where they grew string beans, melons, squash, and lima beans that would be shipped to markets in Los Angeles and San Francisco. With the success of his claim Egan was able to expand his one-room cabin (ca. 1909) into a two-bedroom cottage (1928) where he lived with his wife Bertie until his untimely death in 1930. Bertie Egan continued to live in the cottage until her death in 1949. The homestead was eventually sold off to developers and claimed by the South Coast Water District to build water reservoirs for South Laguna. The remainder 304
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 33 became undeveloped county land. The Egan residence appears to be the last intact residence associated with homesteading in South Laguna still in existence on its original site.

Based on the findings of this assessment, the single-family residence at 31526 Valido Road, is significant under National Register Criterion A at the local level of significance and California Register Criterion 1. However, for the purposes of CEQA, the threshold is eligibility for listing in the California Register. The City’s Historic Preservation Ordinance defines a historic resource as one that has been found eligible for listing in the California Register of Historical Resources. It was found the property is significant under California Register Criterion 1 and is eligible for listing in the California Register. Therefore, the property is a historic resource for the purposes of CEQA. 305
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 34

4.0 REFERENCES

BIBLIOGRAPHY
“100 Choice Lots Listed for Sale,” The Pasadena Post, June 28, 1929.
“50 Cents Pound Received for Early Beans,” The Santa
Ana Register, April 10, 1920.
1870 US Census for William F. Egan, Ancestry.com,
accessed October 2024.
1880 US Census for James Shrewsbury, Ancestry.com,
accessed November 2024.
1910 US Census for William F. Egan, Ancestry.com,
accessed October 2024.
1910-1912 Orange County Voter Registration for William
F. Egan, Ancestry.com, accessed October 2024.
1913 Laguna Road Distract Map. Orange County Archives.
1914-1916 Orange County Voter Registration for William
F. Egan, Ancestry.com, accessed October 2024.
1930 US Census for William F. Egan, Ancestry.com,
accessed October 2024.
1960 US Census, “Number of Inhabitants in California
Report, Table 8.” Population of all incorporated places and of unincorporated places of 1,000 or more: 1940-
1960.
“Announcing the Opening of Three Arch Bay,” The
Progress Bulletin, August 13, 1930.

Brown, William S. and S.B. Show, California Rural Land
Use and Management. United States Department of
Agriculture, 1944.
“Built Environment Resource Directory, Orange County.”
California Office of Historic Preservation, 2022.

California Birth Index for Frances M. Egan and Esther W.

Egan, Ancestry.com, accessed October 2024.

California Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1849-1980, for Bertie E. McCoy, accessed November 2024.
“California Historical Resource Status Codes,” California Office of Historic Preservation, 2022.

Chain of Title for 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach. Legal Description: Portion of the SW ¼ of the NW ¼ of S5
T8S, R8W, S B B & M. Orange County Archives.

City of Laguna Beach building and planning records for
31526 Valido Road,
https://www.lagunabeachcity.net/government/departm
ents/community-development/planningzoning/historic-preservation. Accessed October 2024.

City of Laguna Beach Historic Preservation Ordinance.

Laguna Beach Municipal Code Chapter 25.45 Historic
Preservation.
“City of Laguna Beach Historic Resources Element.”
(Resolution No. 06.006) Adopted July 1981.

Amendment adopted by Laguna Beach City Council,
January 10, 2006.
“City of Laguna Beach Historic Resources Inventory.”
(Resolution 82.111) Adopted by the Laguna Beach City
Council, December 21, 1982.
“Coast Pioneer Passes Saturday”, South Coast News,
January 2, 1931.
“Coast Royal,” South Coast News, October 21, 1930.

County of Orange, Historical Aerial Imagery, OC Archives. http://www.ocgis.com/ocpw/historicalimagery/index.html. “County Planners Give Approval to New Subdivision in
South Laguna,” The Santa Ana Register, March 8, 1947.
“Enjoys Outing at Beaches,” Progress-Bulletin (Pomona,
CA), July 31, 1920.
“Esslinger Sub-Division Approved by County Planning
Board,” Coastline Dispatch, March 25, 1949.
“Found Missing Animal,” Progress-Bulletin (Pomona, CA), August 28, 1915.

Freund, Jacob. “The Homestead Act of 1862: The First
Entitlement Program,” Journal of the West 52, No. 6
(2013).

Gates, Paul W. Free Homesteads for All Americans: The
Homestead Act of 1862. Civil War Centennial
Commission, 1962.
“Historic American Landscapes Survey of Laguna Beach,”
HALS CA-123. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of
the Interior, National Park Service, 2016.

Janz, Jane. Naming Laguna Beach. Laguna Beach, CA:

Pacific-Noir Press, 2018.
“John Robert Egan,” Pomona Daily Progress, January 7,
1903.

Laguna Beach Historic Survey Board Records. MS-R98.

Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine
Libraries, Irvine, California,
https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt2h4nb12j/.
“Met District Offers Terms,” Anaheim Bulletin, August 20, 1940.
“Mrs. Bertie Egan, Pioneer Resident, Expires Sunday,”
South Coast News, January 18, 1949.
306
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 35 “Mrs. Egan Spent Honeymoon Here on 200-Acre
Homestead,” South Coast News, September 30, 1948.
“National Register Bulletin 15: How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation.” Washington, D.C.: U.S.

Department of the Interior, National Park Service,
revised for internet 2002.
“National Register Bulletin 16A: How to Complete the
National Register Registration Form.” Washington D.C.:

U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1997.
“Ocean Front Lots,” The Pasadena Post, August 16, 1926. “Opening!,” The Los Angeles Times, September 7, 1924.
“Real Estate Transfer,” The Santa Ana Register, May 19, 1937.
“Real Estate Transfers,” The Santa Ana Register, January 17, 1937.
“Revives Old Litigation,” The Los Angeles Times, February 29, 1908.
“Soars Does Land on Beach,” The Los Angeles Times,
August 8, 1906.
“South Laguna Water District Studies MWD Annexation
Plan,” The Santa Ana Register, March 25, 1942.

Special Research Collections, UCSB Library, University of California Santa Barbara; Aerial Photography
Collection. Laguna Beach [air photo]. 1:20,000. Flight
AXK-1938. Frame 58-42. Laguna Beach, Calif. 1938.

Special Research Collections, UCSB Library, University of California Santa Barbara; Aerial Photography
Collection. Laguna Beach [air photo]. 1:7,200. Flight C11730. Frame 4-81. Laguna Beach, Calif. 1947.

Special Research Collections, UCSB Library, University of California Santa Barbara; Aerial Photography
Collection. Laguna Beach [air photo]. 1:14,000. Flight
PAI-105V-2. Frame 45. Laguna Beach, Calif. 1959.

Special Research Collections, UCSB Library, University of California Santa Barbara; Aerial Photography
Collection. Laguna Beach [air photo]. 1:6,000. Flight
PAI-133V-1. Frame 24. Laguna Beach, Calif. 1960.

Special Research Collections, UCSB Library, University of California Santa Barbara; Aerial Photography
Collection. Laguna Beach [air photo]. 1:28,800. Flight
TG-2400. Frame 4-69. Laguna Beach, Calif. 1968.

Special Research Collections, UCSB Library, University of California Santa Barbara; Aerial Photography
Collection. Laguna Beach [air photo]. 1:10,000. Flight
WAS-G14. Frame 101. Laguna Beach, Calif. 1976.

Special Research Collections, UCSB Library, University of California Santa Barbara; Aerial Photography
Collection. Laguna Beach [air photo]. 1:24,000. Flight
AMI-OC-81A. Frame 10968. Laguna Beach, Calif. 1981.

State of California Department of Parks and Recreation. “Coast Royal.” Historic Resources Inventory form.

Prepared by Environmental Coalition, April 1981.

State of California Department of Parks and Recreation. “South Laguna.” Historic Resources Inventory form.

Prepared by Environmental Coalition, April 1981.
“A Special Invitation,” The Pasadena Post, August 27,
1926.
“Subdivisions and Subdividers,” The Los Angeles Times,
September 7, 1924.
“Subdivision to Replace Trailer Park in Laguna Beach,” The Santa Ana Register, February 22, 1949.
“Supervisors O.K. Tract,” Anaheim Bulletin, September 3, 1952.
“Three Arches of Laguna Coast Charming,” The Whittier
News, July 16, 1927.

Thurston, J.S. Laguna Beach: Early Days. (Charleston, SC:

The History Press, 1947.

Turnbull, Karen. “A Short History of Laguna Beach”,
https://www.lightheaded.com/asite/laguna/laguna_history/laguna_beach _history.php, accessed November 2024.

Turnbull, Karen Wilson. Three Arch Bay: An Illustrated
History. Santa Ana, CA: Friss-Pioneer Press, 1977.

U.S. Department Bureau of Land Management, Patent
#170682 for 160 acres granted to James M.

Shrewsbury, Issue Date 1/16/1911.

U.S. Department Bureau of Land Management, Patent
#027766 for 40 acres granted to William F. Egan, Issue
Date 1/17/1910.

Viebeck, Beryl Wilson. “Homestead Map Overlays Modern
Streets,” Laguna Beach Historical Society.
“Water District Files Suit to Obtain Property,” The Santa Ana Register, April 8, 1944.
“Water Facilities Contract is Let,” The Santa Ana Register, November 08, 1947.

Wells, Glenn and Connie. “Looking Back on South
Laguna,” South Coast News, August 4, 1961.
307
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 36 APPENDIX A: BUILDING PERMIT HISTORY

DATE PERMIT
NO. OWNER ARCHITECT/ CONTRACTOR DESCRIPTION
1958-
10-14
Mr. & Mrs.

Curtis
Neiswender
Morgan Paving Co.
(contractor)
Pave drive-parking area
1961-
08-09
Mr. & Mrs.

Curtis
Neiswender
Morgan Paving Co.
(contractor)
Grade out & pave additional parking
1962-
12-26
Curtis D.

Miswender
[sic]
County of Orange: To break curb and
install concrete driveway approach for
private residence
1996-
01-08
Elizabeth A
Neiswender
City Inspection Finding(s): Carport has
been converted into a garage without
permits.

Remedial Action Taken: No access to
garage to verify electrical work. Send
letter to owner requesting permit for
carport conversion and access into
carport/garage.
2005-
12-14
B05-
2491
Hobson Roofing Co.
(contractor)
On detached garage, remove existing
roofing; install sheathing, install 2 layers
30# felt, install Class “A” 30 yr.
fiberglass shingles. Pitch 3 ½: 12; Color:

Birchwood *No white roofs allowed.
2005-
12-14
B05-
2492
Hobson Roofing Co.
(contractor)
On house, remove existing roofing;
install sheathing, install 1 layer 30# felt,
install Class “A” 30 yr. fiberglass
shingles. Pitch 4: 12; Color: Birchwood
*No white roofs allowed.
308
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 37 APPENDIX B: MAPS AND HISTORIC AERIALS
Beryl Wilson Viebeck’s Homestead Map Overlays Modern Streets, 1996. (Laguna Beach Historical Society) 309
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 38 Aerial photograph with Egan Homestead outlined in a dashed yellow line and the subject property outlined in red, 1938. (Special Research Collections, UCSB Library, University of California Santa Barbara) 310
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 39 Aerial photograph with Egan Homestead outlined in a dashed yellow line and the subject property outlined in red, 1947. (Special Research Collections, UCSB Library, University of California Santa Barbara) 311
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 40 Aerial photograph with Egan Homestead outlined in a dashed yellow line and the subject property outlined in red, 1959. (Special Research Collections, UCSB Library, University of California Santa Barbara) 312
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 41 Aerial photograph with Egan Homestead outlined in a dashed yellow line and the subject property outlined in red, 1960. (Special Research Collections, UCSB Library, University of California Santa Barbara) 313
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 42 Aerial photograph with Egan Homestead outlined in a dashed yellow line and the subject property outlined in red, 1968. (Special Research Collections, UCSB Library, University of California Santa Barbara) 314
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 43 Aerial photograph with Egan Homestead outlined in a dashed yellow line and the subject property outlined in red, 1976. (Special Research Collections, UCSB Library, University of California Santa Barbara) 315
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 44 Aerial photograph with Egan Homestead outlined in a dashed yellow line and the subject property outlined in red, 1981. (Special Research Collections, UCSB Library, University of California Santa Barbara) 316
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 45 APPENDIX C: ASSESSOR RECORDS
Chain of Title for 31526 Valido Road, page 1 of 2. The County records are incomplete and there is no documentation of ownership prior to 1919, although the Egan Homestead was established in 1910. (Orange County Archives)
317
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 46 Chain of Title for 31526 Valido Road, page 2 of 2. (Orange County Archives) 318
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 47 1913 Orange County Plat map showing 40-acre Egan Homestead. (Orange County Archives) 319
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 48 The property assessment book for 1911 indicates J.S. Thurston as owner of the property and indicates the land value at $115 with no improvements. (Orange County Archives) 320
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 49 The property assessment book for 1912 indicates William F. Egan as owner of a portion of the property and indicates the land value at $155 with no improvements. (Orange County Archives) The property assessment book for 1916 indicates James M. Shrewsbury as owner of the property and indicates the land value at $500 and improvements valued at $200. (Orange County Archives) 321
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 50 APPENDIX D: HISTORIC IMAGES
31526 Valido Road, ca. 1910. Egan homestead with original cabin (ca. 1909) on the left and addition (ca. 1910) on the right. View looking east. Photo courtesy of Nancy Burnham and Deborrah Allen in memory of Howard Russel Hind and Esther Egan Hind; the South Laguna Civic Association.
322
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 51 31526 Valido Road, ca. 1915. Frances and Esther Egan at the rear of the Egan homestead with agricultural fields in the background. View looking toward the south. Photo courtesy of Nancy Burnham and Deborrah Allen in memory of Howard Russel Hind and Esther Egan Hind; the South Laguna Civic Association. 323
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 52 31526 Valido Road, ca. 1928. Egan homestead about the time it was remodeled. View looking towards the east. Photo courtesy of Nancy Burnham and Deborrah Allen in memory of Howard Russel Hind and Esther Egan Hind; the South Laguna Civic Association.
324
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 53 31526 Valido Road, ca. 1930. Frances Egan standing at the rear of the Egan homestead. View looking towards the east.

Photo courtesy of Nancy Burnham and Deborrah Allen in memory of Howard Russel Hind and Esther Egan Hind; the South Laguna Civic Association.
325
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 54 31526 Valido Road, ca. 1932. Front of the Egan homestead in early 1930s. (The decorative border indicates the photo was taken at the time of the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.) View looking west. Photo courtesy of Nancy Burnham and Deborrah Allen in memory of Howard Russel Hind and Esther Egan Hind; the South Laguna Civic Association. 326
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 55 31526 Valido Road, no date. View looking west. Photo courtesy of Nancy Burnham and Deborrah Allen in memory of Howard Russel Hind and Esther Egan Hind; the South Laguna Civic Association. 327
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 56 APPENDIX E: EXISTING CONDITIONS PHOTOGRAPHS
Photographs taken by Historic Resources Group on October 24, 2024, unless otherwise noted.

View of 31526 Valido Road driveway from street; view facing northwest. (California Regional Multiple Listing Service)
View of detached garage from driveway; view facing northwest. 328
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 57 View of east (primary) facade; view facing west. (California Regional Multiple Listing Service) View of main entrance on east (primary) facade; view facing northwest. 329
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 58 Detail of main entrance on east (primary) facade; view facing northwest.

East (primary) façade; view facing west. (California Regional Multiple Listing Service) 330
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 59 Detail of windows on east (primary) facade; view facing west.

Small addition (ca. 1945) on east end of north facade; view facing southeast. 331
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 60 North façade with concrete walkway; view facing northeast.

Detail of north facade; view facing northeast.
332
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 61 North end of west facade; view facing northeast. (California Regional Multiple Listing Service) Detail of north end of west facade; view facing northeast. 333
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 62 West façade; view facing northeast.

Detail of replacement window on west facade; view facing northeast. 334
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 63 Addition with raised deck (ca. 1970) on south end of west facade; view facing northeast.

View detached garage from rear yard; view facing northeast. 335
Historic Resources Group 31526 Valido Road, Laguna Beach | Historic Assessment 64 View detached garage from front yard; view facing southeast.

Detail of replacement windows on east facade; view facing west. 336