Moments in Irvine Ranch history

In 1889, James H. Irvine rode a Big Wheel bicycle from San Francisco to The Irvine ranch. His companion was childhood friend Harry Bechtel.

 


Irvine’s first school opened in 1899. About 120 years later, Irvine’s newest school – Loma Ridge Elementary – opened this August.

 


California’s first flight took place right here on The Irvine Ranch in 1913, when James Irinve II (left) allowed aviator Glenn Martin to take off from his bean field.

 


Nobel Prize winner Albert Michelson (left) got permission from James Irvine II to build a mile-long steel vacuum tube on The Irvine Ranch, becoming the first to measure the speed of light. His measurements helped Albert Einstein develop his Theory of Relativity.