A LOOK BACK -- JERRY PERSON

I’ve noticed when I asked locals where they live, several have

answered Huntington Harbour, CA. I have even seen letters with the return

address as Huntington Harbour.

I think these newcomers would not believe me if I had told them that

there is no city called Huntington Harbour, and they really live in Surf

City -- Huntington Beach.

But back in 1959, a movement was brewing that could have changed our

county maps forever. Area residents were thinking seriously of making

their unincorporated area into a new city.

In March 1959, a committee was formed to do just that. The plan would

incorporate nearly six square miles of unincorporated land, which would

have included present day Huntington Harbour.

This new city would be known as Sunset Bay. The boundaries of this

“new” city would include part of Garfield Avenue on the south and

extending north to the limits of Sunset Beach and Seal Beach. It would

take in part of Bolsa Chica and Algonquin streets, and Los Patos and

Edinger avenues and extend three miles out to sea.

The proposed annexation would not include Sunset Beach within Sunset

Bay’s boundaries. It was hoped that Sunset Bay would have its own boat

marina for weekend sailors.

An incorporation committee headed by Stella Feller and Mrs. Herman F.

Jones, as its secretary and treasurer, was formed. At this time there

were 600 people living within these boundaries. Petitions needed to be

signed and filed by at least 25% of these landowners for the community to

become the 24th municipality in Orange County.

The deadline for submitting these signatures to the county would be

June 19. You must remember at this time, these people were not residents

of either Huntington Beach or Seal Beach, but were residents of Orange

County with the board of supervisors in Santa Ana as their

representatives.

The committee went to work gathering the needed number of signatures.

Meetings were held in committee members’ homes and as the deadline

approached, more meetings were called.

But by June 18, 1959, the backers of cityhood suddenly and reluctantly

had to withdraw its petition to incorporate. So today, instead of having

Sunset Bay on our maps, we have instead Huntington Harbour. Oops, sorry,

I mean Huntington Beach.

* JERRY PERSON is a local historian and longtime Huntington Beach

resident. If you have ideas for future columns, write to him at P.O. Box

7182, Huntington Beach, CA 92615.