October 5, 1857

The Los Angeles Vineyard Society is formed by a group of German immigrants interested in the business of wine making. The Society purchases land and establishes a town in Southern California. They name it Anaheim, a combination of “Ana” for the Santa Ana River and the German word “heim” for home.

1858

Benjamin Dreyfus, a Bavarian Jew, opens a store in Anaheim in anticipation of the new community. He is the first Jew to arrive in what will eventually become Orange County.

Early 1860s 

Morris L. Goodman, the 1st Jewish Councilman in Los Angeles (in 1850) settles in Anaheim.

1864

Dreyfus makes kosher wine for San Francisco and the East coast market, a first for California.

1872

Many Jewish names are recorded in the first Los Angeles City and County Directory, under the “Anaheim Precinct.” Examples include Philip and Gustav Davis (originally Chorinsky), merchants and private bankers; Benjamin Dreyfus, wine maker; Solomon Goldstein, brewery owner; Morris L. Goodman, dry goods store owner and Ernest Stein, laborer.

1874

Morris Mendelson, a tailor, conducts High Holy Day services in the home of a Mr. B. Cohen, who operates an Anaheim meat market.

1876

B. Dreyfus & Company is the largest winery in the state of California. Dreyfus is known as the “king of Anaheim winemakers” and manages the Anaheim Wine Growers Association.

March 5, 1877

The first circumcision in Orange County takes place with the son of Louis Wartenberg, Anaheim’s first Jewish town marshal. Rabbi Edelman from Los Angeles oversees the ceremony.

1878

The Anaheim Hebrew Cemetery Association is formed by five men, including Morris Mendelson.

1880s

Hippolyte Cahen, a Jewish immigrant from Algiers, becomes a successful general store owner in Anaheim and builds a beautiful home for his family in Santa Ana. The home has since been relocated to Anaheim and restored to its original grandeur.

1881-1883

Benjamin Dreyfus is the first Jewish mayor of Anaheim.

August 1, 1889

Orange County is officially formed, separating it from Los Angeles County.

1909

Gertrude Asher is the Queen of the Santa Ana Products Carnival, an early version of the Orange County Fair.

1913

Morris Nasatir attempts to form a congregation in his home on Orange Street in Santa Ana. His son’s Bar Mitzvah, as well as Shabbat services, are conducted there. By 1914 he acquires a Torah and hires a cantor for the High Holidays.

1920s-1930s

Orange County Jewish life consists mostly of merchants in Santa Ana, with 15-20 Jewish families residing there. Well known pioneer names include Sam Hurwitz, Allan and Sandy Fainbarg, Bernie and Bluma Glasser, Richard and Estelle Blake, and the Gildmachers.

1943

The first congregation in Orange County, Reform Temple Beth Sholom, is established in Santa Ana. In 1945 it acquires its own building on Bush Street, making it the first Jewish institution in Orange County to have its own premises.

1950s-1960s

B’nai B'rith Women of Orange County create the Dolls for Democracy program, visiting schools throughout Orange County to teach students that all people, regardless of religion, color or ethnicity, are vital to our democratic way of life.

July 6, 1965

Jewish Federation of Orange County is officially incorporated to provide needed communal services.

1967

Federation helps to form Hillel at Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine, providing programs for Jewish university students.

1969

The Hebrew Academy opens in Huntington Beach.

1970

The First Federation Women’s Division (now known as Women's Philanthropy) is formed, with a fundraising goal of $25,000.

1971

Federation hires its first Executive Director and opens its first office in North Tustin; up until this time it had been run by volunteers.

1975

Federation creates the Orange County Tay-Sachs Screening Program.

1977

The South Coast Jewish Community Center opens in Laguna Beach.

1981

Harriet Wieder becomes the first woman and the first Jew elected to the Orange County Board of Supervisors. She serves on the board for 16 years, through 1995, and is the Chair in 1984, 1988 and 1993.

1987

Federation brings together the Jewish Community Center (JCC), Jewish Family Service (JFS), and the B’nai Brith Youth Organization at the Garden Grove Jewish Community Center. The Senior Center soon follows.

The Jewish Studies Institute (later to become Tarbut V’Torah) opens.

The Baker Street Jewish Community Campus, a merging of the Laguna Beach and Garden Grove JCCs, opens in Costa Mesa. Allan Fainbarg and Arnold Feuerstein generously donate the land and the building.

Morasha Jewish Day School opens.

1990

Heritage Pointe, a luxurious retirement residence, opens in Mission Viejo to meet the needs of Orange County’s Jewish senior citizens.

1991

Tarbut V’Torah Community Day School is founded by Holocaust survivor Irving Gelman.

2004

The Samueli Jewish Campus, including the Tarbut V’Torah middle and Upper School at 5 Federation Way, and the Community Building at 1 Federation Way, opens. The Community Building houses the offices of Jewish Federation (the second largest donor to the new Campus), the newly renamed Merage Jewish Community Center, and the offices of BBYO, the Community Foundation, Hillel and Jewish Family Service.

February 2005

Jewish Federation launches a major Community Strategic Planning process, conducting over 1,000 conversations (focus groups, individual interviews, community roundtables and task forces) over 9 months.

November 2005

Federation rolls out "Connect 2 Community," a new series of community-building initiatives designed to give investors choice in their philanthropy for Jewish Orange County. 

TODAY

Orange County is one of our nation’s fastest-growing, most vibrant and diverse Jewish communities. It is estimated that over 100,000 Jews make Orange County their home. Jewish Federation Orange County is the central organization whose mission is to connect people who give with people in need, and to build a flourishing Jewish community in Orange County, in Israel and around the world.