Newport Beach, is a coastal city in Orange County, southern California. Newport Beach is home to large, boat-filled Newport Harbor.
Before settlers reached the coasts of California, the Newport area and surrounding areas were very prominent Indian lands. throughout the 1800s, settlers began to settle the area due to the availability of land. The State of California sold acre-plots of land for $1 a piece in the Newport area
Anglo-American settlement in the area grew substantially following the events of 1870 when a 105-ton steamer safely steered through the lower and upper bay of Newport where it unloaded its cargo. After hearing the astonishing news, James Irvine, traveled from his home in San Francisco to the San Joaquin Ranch. Meeting in Irvine’s ranch house near current day UC Irvine with his brother, Robert Irvine, and friend James McFadden, they all agreed that the newly found port should be named simply, “Newport” thus where Newport Beach gets its name. City development increased in 1905, when Pacific Electric Railway established a southern terminus in Newport connecting the beach with downtown Los Angeles. In 1906 (with a population of 206 citizens), the scattered settlements were incorporated as the City of Newport Beach.
Settlements filled in on the Peninsula, West Newport, Newport Island, Balboa Island and Lido Isle. In 1923 Corona del Mar, and in 2002 Newport Coast, East Santa Ana Heights and San Joaquin Hills, were annexed.
