User:Nicolaylameijer/sandbox

=History= Peters Canyon Regional Park was originally part of the Spanish Land Grant known as "Rancho Lomas de Santiago" which was a 47,000 acre piece of land given by govenor Pico Pico to Teodosio Yorbain in 1846. The section that was to become Peter's Canyon was known as "Canon de Las Ranas" which translates to "Canyon of the Frogs". The name came from the fact that it drained into the "Cienega de Las Ranas" which is Spanish for "Marsh of the Frogs" which is now known as Upper Newport Bay. In 1897 James Irvine purchased the land from Yorba and leased the land to several farmers one of which was James Peters. Peters built a ranch house and planted a eucalyptus grove near Little Peter Lake which was located in the lower part of the Canyon of the Frogs.

In 1899 golf was introduced by some sportsmen form Orange and Santa Ana. The Santiago Golf Club was built in Peters Canyon on land leased from the Irvine Company. The greens were made from oil soaked sand and the fairways consisted of native soil. A red club house was built on the ridge that now extends into Upper Peters Canyon reservoir.The Upper Peters Canyon reservoir was built in 1931, and the lower reservoir (Little Peters Canyon Lake) which is now a flood control basin) in 1940 to conserve water. With this availability of water, agriculture which included orange groves thrived in the canyon. The reservoirs now a days are known as Peters Canyon Wash. The was is part of the San Diego Creek which is a 26 mile waterway that flows into Upper Newport Bay.

During World War II the U.S Army established a training area called Camp Commander in the eucalyptus grove near Little Peters Lake. The men that were stationed here would fight mock battles against soldiers from Camp Rathke, and Army Post, about two miles away in Irvine Region park. From 1952 to 1988 the Boy Scouts took care of Camp Myford for all sorts of weekend scouting events. Today a gated community called Tustin Ranch Estates occupies the site. The Irvine Co. dedicated 254 acres of Peters Canyon to the County of Orange on March 3, 1992. This is now preserved as an open space for the public.