Incorporated in 1928 with a council-manager government, San
Clemente is the southernmost city in the county, six miles south of San Juan
Capistrano. Its location makes it the only city in Orange County closer to San
Diego than to Los Angeles. Prior to the arrival of the Spanish, the area was
inhabited by what came to be known as the Juaneño Indians. After the founding
of the Mission San Juan Capistrano, the local natives were conscripted to work
for the mission. The city of San Clemente was founded in 1925 by real estate
developer Ole Hanson who named it San Clemente after a town in Spain, as it
were San Clemente Island was named after the city later since it is directly
west of the coast. Hanson envisioned it as a Spanish-style coastal resort, a
"Spanish Village by the Sea." In an unprecedented move, he had a
clause added to the deeds requiring all building plans to be submitted to an
architectural review board in an effort to ensure that future development would
retain some Spanish-style influence (for example, for many years it was
required that all new buildings in the downtown area have red tile roofs). San
Clemente is also the surfing media capital of the world as well as a premier
surfing destination. It is home to Surfing Magazine, The Surfer's Journal, and
Longboard Magazine, with Surfer Magazine just up the freeway in San Juan
Capistrano. San Clemente High School has won 6 out of 7 most recent NSSA
national surfing titles, and the city has a large concentration of surfboard
shapers and manufacturers. Many world renowned surfers were raised in San
Clemente or took up long-term residence in town, including Shane Beschen, Matt
Archbold, Christian Fletcher, Mike Parsons (originally from Laguna Beach),
Colin McPhillips, Colleen Mehlberg, Dino Andino, Chris Ward, and many, many
others. |
