Juan Flores and "Las Manillas" - OCHS History Hike, 4/20/2024
On April 20, 2024, the Orange County Historical Society organized a hike to the top of Flores Peak in the Santa Ana Mountains. The hike told the exciting history of the pursuit of the Flores bandit gang in 1857. The hike was organized by Rob Brown, Mishi Rjava, Chris Jepsen, and Stephanie George. I got to be the lucky historian with a captive audience. Please see the wonderful video above made by Rob Brown and the Orange County Historical Society above. Attendees received a printout with an overview of the history below. Juan Flores and “Las Manillas ” OCHS History Hike 4/20/2024 Juan Flores was born in Mission Santa Clara near the pueblo of San Jose on January 3, 1834. He was the fourth child of José María Flores, an artilleryman in the Spanish military born at Mission San Gabriel in 1796, and María Josefa Sepúlveda, who was born in San Francisco in 1804. He spent his childhood growing up in a typical Californio family in and around the pueblo of San Jose and received a decent e