ALL THINGS ORANGE COUNTY

When the Bowers Museum was first established, its primary mission was to collect and preserve the history of Orange County. Although the Bowers has grown and changed since its doors opened in 1936, we are still proud to own and maintain one of the largest collections of historic documents, photographs, and ephemera in the County.

Largely archival, this collection of over 50,000 objects contains historic newspapers, magazines and other publications, photographs and art and objects relating to the early days of Orange County. Highlights of this collection include more than 300 objects relating to Madame Helena Modjeska and memorabilia and objects from the first police and fire departments of Santa Ana. Many of these objects were collected from the founding families of Orange County by the museum`s first curator, Bessie Beth Coulter.