A century of Orange County farming

Lolita Harper

COSTA MESA -- It is a project that has been in the making longer than

Costa Mesa’s youngest voters have been alive.

After nearly two decades of pitching various proposals to the city

regarding the Home Ranch property, C.J. Segerstrom & Sons awaits a

decision by the City Council regarding the fate of what is the final

piece of farmland still held by a dynasty family.

In 1882, Charles John (C.J.) Segerstrom, 28, and his wife, Bertha,

took their three young children and left Sweden -- where C.J. learned to

farm -- for the United States. The family landed in Orange County in 1898

in what is now the city of Orange.

After a wagon trip to present-day Costa Mesa, the family found the

land they intended to settle on. At first, they leased the 40 acres,

growing alfalfa to feed cows, and began a dairy. After some success,

Segerstrom bought the land on Fairview Road north of the San Diego

Freeway, which the family still refers to as the home ranch.

After acquiring other properties, the Segerstroms started the

commercial production of lima beans. The dairy farm was sold, and the

family quickly became the largest independent producer of lima beans in

the country.

C.J. Segerstrom, father of 11 children, brought his six sons into the

business, and they took over when he died in 1927.

Considered the leader of the family’s successful transition from

farming to the world of development, Henry Segerstrom -- third generation

-- is best known for developing South Coast Plaza and the South Coast

Metro area, as well as providing the vision and money to build the Orange

County Performing Arts Center and South Coast Repertory Theater.

Despite their success in development, the family members still farmed

on their land with great success, albeit one tragic loss with the

untimely death of Corinne Segerstrom, 9, who died Aug. 31, 1994, in a

farming accident.

But hers most likely will prove to be the last such tragedy the family

endures on the farm.

What is left of the original home ranch will instead be preserved as a

testament to the five generations of Segerstroms who managed to turn a

small chunk of land, just south of Los Angeles, into one of California’s

most powerful retail and cultural dynasties.