Heritage Museum of Orange County
Both the H. Clay Kellogg House and the John Maag Farmhouse can be seen on the grounds of the Heritage Museum of Orange County. The Heritage Museum of Orange County is a cultural and natural history center that is committed to preserving, promoting, and restoring the heritage of Orange County and the surrounding region by providing high-quality educational programs that are hands-on for students of all ages and visitors of all walks of life.
Students of all ages have had the opportunity to participate in educational activities that involve hands-on learning at the Heritage Museum for more than 35 years.
The Heritage Museum of Orange County is a popular location for history buffs in Southern California. The enormous floral gardens and citrus trees that are spread out across the museum’s approximately 12 acres make up the historic plaza that serves as the institution’s focal point. This plaza is home to a number of structures that date back to the 1890s. One of the structures is the Kellogg House, which has served as a well-liked site for educational excursions for children and educators from all around Orange County for more than three decades.
The Gospel Swamp Farm and the Gospel Swamp Natural Area are both additional elements that may be found on the HMOC grounds. Volunteers from the neighborhood’s high schools and colleges keep the agriculture initiative going. In addition to utilizing the produce grown on the farm for our children’s educational programs and other museum events, we are in the process of constructing a “Borrowing Barn” for the purpose of lending out tools. In the past, this location was home to a fully functional blacksmith shop that served as the headquarters for the Orange County Blacksmith Guild. Classes for blacksmithing were regularly held here for members of the guild. Unfortunately, during the early hours of July 4, 2019, the shop was destroyed by fire, and as a result, it will now be essential to reconstruct the shop. Even though there is not yet a set timetable for the reconstruction of the Blacksmith shop, we are working toward getting it back up and running as quickly as we possibly can.
The restoration of the John A. Maag Farmhouse is the focus of the museum’s most recent significant fundraising effort. The property, which was constructed in 1899, has three stories and 5,600 square feet of internal living space and will be used to house museum archives, offices, and exhibitions after the project is completed. Offices, a conference room, and our gift shop are all located in two of the original barns that were attached to the Maag Farmhouse.
Next Point of Interest: Lyon Air Museum