History of the Canyon

Silverado is the largest inhabited canyon in the Santa Ana Mountains. First known as Canon de la Madera (Timber Canyon) it's earliest permanent resident was Francisco Soto who built an adobe house there in the 1850s or 1860s. By 1876, Sam and Betty Shrewsbury had moved to the canyon where they built a lime kiln, raised bees and grew fruit trees. Sam Shrewsbury also served as justice of the peace. The Shrewsburys moved to Silverado from Modjeska Canyon where they sold some of their property to Madame Helena ModjeskaIn 1877, Santa Ana hunters Hank Smith and William Curry found silver in the canyon launching Orange County's biggest silver boom. The town of Silverado was founded the next year, though largely abandoned within 10 years when the boom ended.The richest of the silver mines was discovered by Jonathon D. Dunlap, a deputy U.S. marshal who pursued a criminal into the canyon. His Blue Light Mine operated longer than any other Silverado mine. Today, all that's left of the old mining town is California Registered Landmark No. 202 at the end of Silverado Canyon Road.In the 1920s and 1930s the canyon experienced an influx of people from Long Beach who sought seasonal escape from the coastal fog. In 1969, the canyon suffered flooding and mudslides. Homes and bridges washed away, and six lives were lost when the Silverado fire station was hit by a mudslide. Est. 1850​