Orange County, California is a region with a fascinating history of politics. Many international companies have their regional headquarters in the county, such as Mazda, Toshiba, Toyota, Samsung, Kia, Mitsubishi, Kawasaki Motors and Hyundai. This area has maintained a tension between traditionalism and California's drive for reinvention. In 1975, Orange County welcomed anti-communist refugees after the fall of Saigon.
In the mid-1940s, school segregation between Mexican and white students was widespread in Orange County. Around 80% of Mexican students attended 14 segregated schools. In 1969, Richard Nixon, a native of Orange County, became the 37th president of the United States. The Orange County Plain Dealer was an Anaheim-based newspaper that ran from 1898 to 1952. The mobilization to the right during the suburban explosion of the 1960s gave Orange County a national reputation for its hardline conservatism with a wacky touch of “crazy”.
Walter Knott, famous for berry farms, sponsored the five-day “Christian Anti-Communist School” to help Orange County see the world he saw. Shopping in Orange County focuses on regional malls, large power plants and smaller malls. Orange County has many Republican voters from culturally conservative Asian, American, Latino and Middle Eastern immigrant groups. The oldest cities in North Orange County have traditional centers that date back to the late 19th century.
To the east and south are newer cities such as Rancho Santa Margarita, Ladera Ranch and Coto de Caza. The San Gabriel River briefly crosses Orange County and exits into the Pacific between Long Beach and Seal Beach. Orange County SC is a United Soccer League team and is the only professional soccer club in Orange County. With home games played at Championship Soccer Stadium in Grand Park, the team seeks to grow in the Orange County community and achieve continued success.
Viticulture became an increasingly important crop in Los Angeles and Orange Counties over the next few decades.
