Looking for Potholes

Looking for Potholes

Noel Laflin

6-5-19

In 1925 a rancher took this and one other two-ton rock from Hidden Ranch above Black Star Canyon. Native Americans ground acorns in the potholes. There are some really large mortar stone slabs in Hidden Ranch to this day. The rancher intended to make the two he took, which he accomplished with the help of a tractor, a roadside attraction. But the stones, in turn, were liberated by an Irvine Park supervisor and his jail crew one night. Orange County jail crews used to rake the park back then. The stones were loaded onto a truck and hidden in the park – they were actually buried for safekeeping. The rancher was mad, but the supervising board decided the stones belonged to the community, so they were dug up and put on display. One eventually ended up in Bower’s museum, having been hijacked by the county more or less. It seems everyone was taking something that should have stayed put in the first place.

Anyway, the remaining pothole mortar was on display near the original children’s playground for decades. It was eventually moved inside the OC Zoo for safekeeping, as some visitors were doing damage to the relic.

I had read about the stone and have been trying to locate it for some time, with no luck. So I finally asked someone who I figured could help – Dave, one of the railroad engineers and a great narrator on a train ride. Those guys know the park better than anyone – and Dave especially since he’s been coming here since he was a kid, and has worked for the park for more than twenty years. He knew what I was talking about and directed me to the zoo. A zoo employee directed me to the stone’s remote location within, and I finally got to see it today. It sits forlornly against a fence near the Storytime children’s area. Just on the other side of that fence is a road I have either walked or driven upon dozens of times. If I had only thought to peek through the fence I might have found that old rock sooner.

The moral of this brief tale is, if you want to know something about Irvine Park, take a ride on the train and listen to Dave.