This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
Saloon Era Echoes In Capistrano Moonshine Tales
Don Tryon archivist for the San Juan Historical Society recounts Capistrano Valley’s bootlegging history from the 1870s to Prohibition and beyond. Old photos show saloons on Los Rios Street and signs of eras of cattle rounds, ostrich races, and a community shaped by alcohol, crime, and raids including a 1965 moonshine bust near Ortega Road with two stills, 30 jugs, and corn mash transported to Bakersfield.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
O’neill
Los Rios Street
Historical Society
Yellow House
el Camino Real
Dana Point
Coastline Dispatch
Capistrano
Santa Ana Register
Cape
Orange County
Santa Fe Railroad
Bakersfield
Capistrano Valley