Heritage Museum of Orange County…
Is a cultural and natural history center in Southern California. The centerpiece of the museum, which covers nearly 12 acres in all, is a historic plaza featuring several buildings from the 1890s set amid extensive floral gardens and citrus groves. Among the buildings is the Kellogg House familiar to teachers and students throughout Orange County as a favorite field trip destination for over 30 years.
Additional features found at HMOC include our Gospel Swamp Farm and Gospel Swamp Natural Area. The farm project is maintained by local high school and college volunteers. We’re currently installing a “Borrowing Barn” for tool lending and we utilize produce from the farm for our children’s educational programs and other museum events. Previously on site there was a fully operational blacksmith shop that was headquarters for the Orange County Blacksmith Guild and guild members held regular blacksmith classes. Unfortunately, the shop burned down in the wee hours of July 4, 2019 and it is now necessary to rebuild the shop. While there is no definitive schedule for a rebuild of the Blacksmith shop, we hope to have it up and running again as soon as possible.
The latest major campaign for the museum is to restore the John A. Maag Farmhouse. The home, built in 1899, features three stories in 5,600 square feet of interior living space and is planned for the housing of museum archives, offices and exhibitions. Two original outbuildings of the Maag Farmhouse currently house offices, meeting space and our gift shop.
Our Staff
Jamie S. Hiber
Executive Director
Jessica Bell
Director of History & Culture
Kimberly Dennin
Administrative Assistant to Director of History & Culture
Daniel Cooper
Director of Community Engagement
Betzaira Ruiz
Administrative Assistant to Director of Community Engagement
Mariella Abarea
Interim Weddings & Events Coordinator
Moises Plascencia
Gospel Swamp Farm Manager
Eli Aguilar
Digital Content Strategist
Our Board of Directors
PRESIDENT
Dr. Amanda VanDenburgh, Ph.D.
VICE PRESIDENT
Ramon R. Munoz
SECRETARY
Mark Anthony Reynoso Paredes
TREASURER
Juan Cachua
Directors at Large
Gloria Alvarado
Manuel Chavez
Carlos Muniz
Caroline Smith
Ismael Soto