MILLENNIUM MOMENT

Few figures in Newport-Mesa history affected the course of the

development of the area as much as William S. Collins, the developer who

bought the town site from James McFadden in 1902 and subdivided much of

the property around Newport Bay.

Collins used a dredger to turn a meager sandbar, once called Snipe

Island, into what is today Balboa Island and created a bulkhead to keep

out high tides. On a less monumental note, he also created a concrete

castle on the island for his wife, a building that later appeared as a

palace in the movie “Rajah’s Daughter.”

* MILLENNIUM MOMENT celebrates the people who have made a major

contribution to the Newport-Mesa community during this century.