Los Rios is California’s oldest residential neighborhood. In 1794, its dirt path was lined with small adobe structures that were built for the families of soldiers and construction workers employed at the mission.. At the time the road was called Calle Occidental.

In the late 1800s, it became Los Rios Street when a second wave of board and batten homes were built by European immigrants. Today there are about forty homes on the street which vary in age from 50 to over 200 years old. Most of the buildings are private dwellings while others are home to cottage shops, gourmet restaurants, art galleries, a tea house and a museum. Today, the Montenez Adobe, Silvas Adobe and Rios Adobe are all that remain of the original forty. The peaceful street still has no sidewalks or curbs but retains the charm of Southern California hospitality.

THE HISTORY BEHIND THE PETTING ZOO

ZOOMARS is proud to be a part of the Los Rios District. The one and a half acre property on which it sits is a remaining parcel that was once part of a 2,500 acre Mexican Ranch. At the front of the grounds is the 100 year old Olivares Home and was the residence of Delfina Olivares, a Matriarch of the City in the late 1800s. Although there were no amusement parks or attractions in California back when Delfina lived there, the house became known as a neighborhood gathering place.

Mrs. Olivares died in 1972, leaving the house to her children who resided there until 1980 when the property was sold to Gil and Millie Jones. The Joneses restored the three historic structures on the site consisting of the Olivares House, an 1890’s bathhouse (moved there in 1936) and a small one-bedroom bungalow where the couple planned to reside. In 1981, Gil and Millie placed the property on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1983, Mr. Jones established a hay ride service. He purchased a couple of enormous draft horses along with an 1884 Sears and Roebuck carriage, and started Carriage Services Limited. He then purchased a haywagon so that he and his wife could take visitors around town on a guided tour. As for Mrs. Jones, she took over the Olivares House for her well-respected china painting studio, Porcelain Art Creations.

In 1989, the Joneses built a backyard barnyard, purchased some farm animals and turned their pioneer farmhouse into a quaint petting zoo. The couple named the place The Jones Family Mini Farm and as Gil and Millie’s children and grandchildren grew up there, they too would take part in this enchanting endeavor. During his time as owner and resident of Jones Farm, Gil Jones served on the Los Rios Review Committee (helping to write the historic guidelines that exist today) and was a three-term Mayor of San Juan Capistrano.

Deciding to retire in 2004, the Joneses put the farm up for sale. In 2005, they sold it to the current owners, Omar and Carolyn Gonzalez, who hope to continue the legacy of both Mrs. Olivares and the Joneses by preserving the property and continuing on with the petting zoo.

OUR SIDE STREET

River Street, the road that runs along side the ZOOMARS property, was the original walking path to the Pacific Ocean from San Juan Capistrano in the 1700s. It extended all the way to Dana Point, approximately four miles. Early residents used this road to go to the beach and San Juan Bay, now called the Dana Point Harbor. Cowhides were carted from the processing area at the mission down this same road to the clifftops overhanging the harbor where they were tossed down to be shipped to East Coast markets. Today, only 600 feet of the original road remains and is privately owned; half belonging to the ZOOMARS property and the other half to the Ito Nursery.

OUR NEIGHBORS

The O’Neill Museum
The Garcia/Pryor residence, known also as the O'Neill Museum, was built in the 1880s by José Dolores Garcia, a saloon owner. It was one of the first wooden houses in San Juan. In 1903 Albert Pryor purchased the house for his family who lived there until 1955. In the late 70s, the San Juan Capistrano Historical Society acquired the house and moved it across the tracks where it now sits. They meticulously restored the home which now serves as a museum.

The Rios Adobe
Built in 1794 by Feliciano Rios, a Spanish soldier based at the Mission, this is the oldest residence in the California continuously occupied by the same family. In the 1920s, Gertrude Rios opened a family restaurant in the board and batten outbuilding which provided income for her family during the Great Depression. Today the eighth generation of the Rios family is being raised there by Stephen Rios, our friend and neighbor.

THE TRAIN STATION
Across the tracks from ZOOMARS is San Juan’s train station. The Santa Fe Depot, built in 1894, helped local farmers ship hay, wool, sheep, walnuts, honey, oranges, corn, cattle and horses. Today, the depot is home to Sarducci’s Restaurant, a town favorite.

MISSION SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO

Much of San Juan’s history can be found in its beautiful mission. A visit to this historic landmark is a unique opportunity to experience California as it was in the beginning.

Back in 1776, while Thomas Jefferson and John Hancock were signing the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, Padre Junipero Serra was founding Mission San Juan Capistrano. His purpose for building it was to bring Christian faith to the indigenous people and improve the standards of living for the Indians. Known as the “Jewel of the Missions,” it was the birthplace of Orange County and the seventh in a chain of twenty-one missions erected throughout the state. Bells were hung, mass was celebrated and the mission flourished as an early industrial center producing crops and livestock until 1821 when an earthquake collapsed its Great Stone Church, killing forty worshippers inside.

THE HISTORY BEHIND SWALLOWS DAY
and THE SWALLOWS FESTIVAL

Thanks to an old song and some remarkable birds, many have heard of San Juan Capistrano. “Fiesta de las Golondrinas,” the Festival of the Swallows, is San Juan’s two month celebration welcoming the return of these miraculous little flyers every St. Joseph’s Day on March 19th. Historically, the festival is an outgrowth of a school carnival that was started in the 1930s to celebrate the swallows return. Original events consisted of an equestrian parade, trail ride, and western dance. The horses, bands and costumed characters that march down Camino Capistrano are surely a site to see as it is the largest non-motorized parade in the country. The Fiesta kicks off in February with the "Taste of San Juan Reception.” In March, festival month begins with the annual Kid’s Pet Parade on the 5th. Swallows Weekend is begins with the “El Presidente Ball,” on the 18th and the mission begins their celebration on this day as well, continuing on to the 20th. Everyone's eyes are on the skies as the village takes on a fiesta air. Mission bells ring, mariachis play and thousands of tourists descend upon the town.

But it doesn’t stop there. “Hoos’gow Day,” a San Juan tradition, takes place on the 24th and the annual “Swallows’ Day Parade” and “Mercado Street Fair” takes place the following weekend on Saturday the 25th.

And all this happens, as the little orange-tailed migrants are flying 7,500 miles from Goya, Argentina to their “summer home.” Every year these Cliff Swallows leave Goya on the 18th of February and begin their incredible thirty day journey to Capistrano, arriving on March 19th. During this time they do not eat or drink, flying fifteen hours from dawn to dusk. Most of the way they fly at altitudes above 2,000 feet to take advantage of favorable air currents and stay above the path of predatory birds. The Capistrano birds have been returning to the area for centuries as a result of its location near rivers since they build their nests from mud, piled high to form an inverted pouch with a funnel-like opening. The birds gather beakfuls of mud which may require hundreds of trips before the nest is complete. They return to the same nests each year and if the nests haven't survived the winter, they often rebuild in the same place. After spending a warm summer in San Juan, on October 23rd, the famous swallows swirl into the sky and head back to their wintering grounds in Argentina. By the time they return home they will have flown 15,000 miles--almost a complete trip around the world.

The festival of the swallows has been celebrated for centuries, ever since Mission padres observed the birds returning each year on St. Joseph's Day. But as the City of San Juan becomes more developed the swallow’s food supply is dwindling. Insects that are necessary for their survival, who thrive in open fields, are no longer abundant as a result of development in the area. Therefore, the swallows have been forced to locate further from the center of town, many now nesting in the eaves at Saddleback Valley College.

But despite the fact that the Swallows are now more dispersed, the Mission is still the center of attraction for the festival. Each year on “Swallow’s Day” the mission hosts a jubilant celebration welcoming the return of the town’s most famous citizens back to the Capistrano Valley. Among the day's activities, Native Americans display their work, Mariachis play, dancers perform, food is served, and basket making, spinning, weaving and beading activities take place. Living history characters walk among the guests, and blacksmiths, saddle makers, woodworkers and craftspeople provide demonstrations while ropers demonstrate their skills.
The swallows of Capistrano are well-known and well-loved. They are also well-protected by San Juan’s ordinance which declares the city a bird sanctuary.

For more information on the Swallows Festival, visit www.swallowsparade.com

" The Miracle of the Swallows". Series on the Life of St. Francis. Workshop of Basilio de Santa Cruz. c. 1680.

A TALE TO BE TOLD

In his book, Capistrano Nights, Father St. John O'Sullivan, Pastor of Mission San Juan Capistrano 1910 to 1933, relates how the swallows first came to call the Mission home. The story is told that after the town grew up around the Mission, one of the padres noticed a storekeeper in town angrily sweeping down the swallows’ nests and chasing away the 'dirty birds'. The kind padre invited the frustrated little birds to the Mission where there was "room for all.” The very next morning, Father O'Sullivan discovered the swallows busy building their nests outside Father Junipero Serra's Church and many have been returning there every year knowing their young will be safe.

THE SONG THAT MADE THE SWALLOWS FAMOUS
In 1939, songwriter Leon Rene was listening to the radio one morning when he heard the announcer say the swallows were about to arrive at Mission San Juan Capistrano and got an idea for a song. Rene is the author of "When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano," which was introduced in 1939, and soon became a hit.