Newport Back Bay - History

History

Sculpted by the Santa Ana River and carved during the Pleistocene Epoch, mammoth, bison, and giant sloth fossils have been discovered in sedimentary deposits of an older marine terrace. Until 1862, the Newport Bay flowed directly into the Pacific Ocean. The earliest human inhabitants lived in the bay some 9,000 years ago. 2,000 years ago, the Bay was home to the Gabrielino Indians, who lived off the fish and plants inhabiting the area. Following the California mission period, these Native Americans had all but disappeared from the area. Since then, the area above the bay was used for grazing by cattle and sheep. In 1870, the steamwheel steamer "Vaquero" gave Newport its namesake after delivering loads of lumber in a "new port." Acquired by the Irvine Company in 1864, the bay was used as a salt works from the 1930s until 1969, when the land used for the salt works was destroyed by flooding. It was not until the 1960s did preservation of the Newport Back Bay begin, after the area was designated to become a water-skiing area. After ten years of lawsuits enacted by concerned citizens, did the State of California Department of Fish and Game designate the undeveloped portions of the Upper Newport Bay an ecological reserve. . In the mid 1980's, Orange County incorporated the bluffs surrounding the bay to the ecological reserve. In 1989, the Orange County accepted the 140-acre Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve.