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Photograph of Jose Serrano Adobe
Photograph by Eli Pousson, CC BY-SA 2.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Jose Serrano Adobe

Built in 1863. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. 17 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1901.

From the record

“The José Serrano Adobe is a historic 1863 adobe house in Lake Forest, Orange County, California. The property is one of four historic buildings at Heritage Hill Historic Park.”

Wikipedia article José Serrano Adobe, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 136 National Register listings published here for Orange County · listed in 1976 · category: Building · built in 1863.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building, 1 site as contributing to the listing.
  • Listed as. Serrano, Jose, Adobe - the National Register files a house under its owner's surname.
  • Address. 21802 Serrano Rd., El Toro, 92630
  • When was it listed? May 1976
  • Category. building
  • Census division. Irvine-Lake Forest
  • When was it built? 1863
  • National Register reference number. 76000505 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Then and now

1901 to 1997

The ground this property stands on, surveyed 96 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet covering Jose Serrano Adobe, surveyed 1997
Topographic sheet covering Jose Serrano Adobe, surveyed 1901

Fires near this property

161 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 161 fires within 5 miles of Jose Serrano Adobe between 1997 and 2020, burning about 657 acres in total. 4 started naturally. 46 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined63
Arson/incendiarism46
Smoking19
Misuse of fire by a minor13
Equipment and vehicle use12
Natural4
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Debris and open burning1
Recreation and ceremony1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
5 September 2019Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreOrange County Fire Authoritynot named
28 September 2018Smokingunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
28 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
27 September 2010Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
25 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
20 September 2007Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
2 September 1997Equipment and vehicle use600 acresCleveland National ForestSANTIAGO
13 September 2009Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named

Every fire recorded in Orange County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 10 workings within 5 miles of Jose Serrano Adobe: 4 past producers, 4 producers, 2 occurrences. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Limestone, General, Diatomite. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Aliso ProspectDiatomiteOccurrence
El Toro DepositLimestone, General, Stone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Santa Rosa Lead - ZincLead, ZincOccurrence
Serrano MineClayPast Producer
Baker Ranch ExtensionStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Asbury El Toro, Ltd.Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
El Toro PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
El Toro PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Gravel PitsSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Sully-Miller Contracting Co.Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Orange County

Storms near this property

2 since 2001

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names El Toro, the town this property stands in, in 2 storm reports between 2001 and 2021: 2 flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
December 2021FloodEl Toro-El Toro road on-ramp to I-5 flooding. Vehicle stuck water.
February 2001FloodEl Toro-Flooding along Interstate 5 from heavy rains.

Every storm recorded in Orange County

Maps showing this location

17 surveys

United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.

Listed places nearby

5 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Irvine Bean and Growers Association Building4.4 miles1986
Irvine Blacksmith Shop4.5 miles1986
Modjeska House5.7 miles1972
Joseph Pleasants Stone Building5.7 miles1972
Frances Packing House6.2 miles1977

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 76000505 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Orange CountyAll 136 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.