Heritage Museum of Orange County…
Is a historic Southern California destination. 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.
HMOC MISSION STATEMENT: Heritage Museum of Orange County is a cultural and natural history center dedicated to preserving, promoting, and restoring the heritage of Orange County and the surrounding region through quality hands-on educational programs for students and visitors of all ages.
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 Hiber
Executive Director
Jessica Bell
Director of History & Culture
Daniel Cooper
Director of Community Engagement
Alex Gonzalez
Facilities Manager
Betzaira Ruiz
Volunteer Coordinator
Sam Guitron
Gospel Swamp Farm Manager
Shandra Wilson
Digital Content Strategist
Our Board of Directors
PRESIDENT
Mark Anthony Paredes
VICE PRESIDENT
Ismael Soto
SECRETARY
Marie Nubia-Feliciano
TREASURER
Gloria Alvarado
Directors at Large
Manuel Chavez
Carlos Muniz
Caroline Smith
Jennifer Wang