Part 1
Tustin was established as a real estate venture by a Petaluma carriage maker, Columbus Tustin. He and his partner, Nelson O. Stafford, purchased 1300 acres of the Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana (see map on page 12) in 1868 when the old spanish land grants were being partitioned.
Between 1868 and 1872, Tustin set about establishing "Tustin City" on his share of the parcel He laid the streets out through the wild mustard and sycamore trees that covered the area. He moved his wife, Mary and their five children (Mary Jane, Martha, Ella, Fannie, and Samuel) here. He started selling lots and established the school district and the post office. When many people failed to buy homesites, he offered lots free to anyone who would build a home.
In 1877, Tustin competed unsuccessfully with William Spurgeon in Santa Ana for the southern terminus of the Southern Pacific Railroad, thereby sealing the fate of the "city" --Tustin would remain a small town, Santa Ana would become a city. Columbus Tustin died in1883 a bitterly disappointed man.
Then, during the land boom of the 1889's, Tustin's prospects brightened. New construction included three churches. a 50-room hotel, a bank and a horse-drawn tallyho, which connected Tustin to Santa Ana. Many new residents built homes and planted groves.
The 1890's saw Tustin well established as an agricultural community. Groves of apricots and walnuts gradually were replaced by valencia oranges. John "Zeke" Zeilian reigned over the public school. His students later organized as "Zeke's Bunch" and held annual picnic reunions into the 1960's at Irvine Park