Santa Ana Tin Mine
Though tin ore was located in Trabuco Canyon in 1877, it took more than two decades before any development would finally occur. In April 1901, J.A. Comer located 54 claims in the canyon. Two months later the Santa Ana Tin Mining Company was incorporated, and by November a large mill and several other buildings were erected. Among the Company's stakeholders was Gail Borden III of Borden's Condensed Milk Company, who sought to use the tin for milk containers as wooden buckets had recently been outlawed. In total, about $1.5 million was invested in the development of the mine. Total production, however, was an astounding zero: not one ounce of tin ore was ever produced, nor was any profit ever made aside from the sale of the mine to Glenn S. Gunn, who mistakenly believed he could extract mercury ore from the ground. The mill was ultimately shut down in 1906, after only a month and a half of operation, and the tin venture was abandoned. By 1969, remnants of the mine (including the old mill, blacksmith shop, labratory, and mine workings) were described as the best preserved in Orange County. Nevertheless, about 1980 the buildings were razed and today only overgrown foundations remain.
