CREATING A BEVERLY HILLS OF ORANGE COUNTY!
Myford was not a farmer. His older brother, Jase, had been groomed to be the logical successor to their father's control of an agricultural empire.
Myford spent most of his adult life managing the family's financial interests in San Francisco.
So, when his brother's untimely death took place, Myford the next to control the Irvine Company, it was no surprise that his development interests were more residential than agricultural.
Myford Irvine believed that the value of land lay not only in the cultivation of crops but also for the enjoyment of people moving to Orange County in droves during the postwar population boom. In 1953, Irvine sent $250,000 to host the weeklong Boy Scout Jamboree. He developed beautiful coastline communities in Newport and Laguna Beach, creating a "Beverly Hills, of Orange County." Finally, he was in favor of bringing a University of California campus to the Irvine Ranch.
To learn more, click on Irvine Ranch gives way to urban development.