Fullerton in 1923

Fullerton is the gem of Northern Orange County, which has the distinction of being one of the most prosperous counties in all California and is known as the land of “Sunshine and Flowers.” Truly all nature smile son this paradise of loveliness. The census of 1920 lists Orange County’s population as approximately sixty-two thousand. Yet there is room, ample room, for ten times that number. Orange County cannot fulfill her manifested potentialities until many new thousands have been added to her present population. The hard sledding pioneer days are past; there remains the task of building, in this garden of Southern California, a proud and rich civilization.

Life today in Fullerton is, on the whole, freer, richer and happier, in all probability, than it is in any other portion of the great Southwest. Fullerton seeks men of action, of ability, of experience, and of wealth. We want their constructive activity, we want their ability and experience to speed our creative unfoldment. We need their vision and new perspective in preparing for the many thousands of people who shall make Fullerton their future abiding place.

The transportation facilities of Fullerton are equal to those of any other city of its size in the state. The city is situated on the transcontinental line of the Santa Fe Railway and its junction on the main line of the road between Los Angeles and San Diego. The local train service on this line is excellent, having eight passenger trains each way daily. The Union Pacific Railway Company has just completed its line from Los Angeles to Anaheim, giving Fullerton four additional daily passenger trains.

The parks of Fullerton, three in all, comprise over forty-four acres of land. They are given excellent care and abound in flowers and rare shrubs and offer many attractions such as playgrounds for children and sheltered picnic spots for families. Here, during the cool summer evenings, the Fullerton Concert Band furnishes music to the delight of hundreds of her citizens.

The Hotel California possesses a charm for the tourist. Its spacious lobby, magnificent dining hall, commodious rooms and beautiful court impress the visitor with the thought of home and homey comforts. The visitor may have all that a private home can give with none of its cares or burdens – a private home with complete service of every kind.

The public library of Fullerton is an institution of which the city may well be proud. With eleven thousand six hundred and ten volumes and two hundred magazines and newspapers, it is well equipped to serve the highest intellectual interests of the citizens.

Stores and shops of Fullerton are pleasingly attractive and a constant source of delight to our citizens. It is a notable fact that many of the mercantile establishments are modern in every particular and are worthy of the widespread patronage which they attract. Fullerton boasts of one of the finest and best equipped department stores in this section of California, occupying three floors and covering a space of twenty-five thousand square feet. All of the merchants are keeping pace with the city’s rapid growth and development.

Churches are the moral bulwark of a community. In Fullerton today there are two vital agencies for social betterment, community play and community worship, both of which in their inception are intimately associated in the religious life of her people. For many years the unity of religious sentiment of the community has been focused upon a few of the leading church denominations and has been fostered and nourished by them.

Oranges and lemons are the principal crops of the Fullerton district. The 1922 crop sold in excess of ten million dollars, paying handsome dividends to the grower. There are two outstanding features in the history of Fullerton which differentiate it from any other city in the world. First, it is the home of the famous Valencia orange; second, within the confines of the city limits there is located the largest bearing orange grove in the world, consisting of twenty-six hundred acres, which is owned an operated by the Bastanchury Ranch Company.

Fullerton Union High School serves eleven grammar school districts, covering an area of approximately one hundred fifty square miles. The greatest school transportation system in the United States functions effectively in bringing pupils to the central institution. For this work fourteen busses are needed, carrying from thirty to fifty pupils each. Being centrally and favorably located, Fullerton has been able to attract a very superior teaching force. Innovations of different kinds are being carefully and scientifically introduced to such an extent that they have aroused the interest of educators nationwide. Fullerton has become the “Mecca” of teachers from all parts of Southern California.

The Fullerton Hospital is unsurpassed in modern equipment and facilities and is meeting the local requirements. There is a nurses training school in connection with the hospital which gives the student a twenty-eight months course.

Homes are obtainable at prices ranging from approximately two thousand dollars for a modest cottage of three rooms to the large expensive homes of wealth. It is safe for the average home seeker to figure that a new home of popular type, in close proximity to the center of the city, can be found on street after street of available homes with lawns and well-kept gardens.