Visions of California

Guaromo – the Story of a Tongva Village Territory The holes in the rock above are called “morteros.” Near this rock are many oak trees that were the source of acorns, one of the primary foods of the people who lived in what is today Orange County prior to Spanish colonization in 1769. After gathering the acorns, women would gather on this rock to grind them into a powder during the process of preparing them for consumption. The deep holes pictured here suggest long-term settlement and utility of the resources in the area. This particular rock is located in the Santiago Canyon area and may be related to the village of Guaromo. The Orange County historian Jim Sleeper once likened historical research to eating quail. “You wade through so much to wind up with so little,” he quipped. This is particularly true of the county’s Spanish and Mexican eras, spanning the years 1769-1848. Precious few resources relating to this time period have come down to us, many of which have yet to be translate...