Santa Ana is the county seat of Orange County, California, and its oldest and most populous urban core. Located about thirty-five miles south of Los Angeles and ten miles inland from the Pacific, it sits at the geographic center of the county, with five major freeways converging nearby and John Wayne Airport minutes away. The city's story began with the Spanish land grants. The Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana was granted in 1810 to José Antonio Yorba and passed through the Yorba and Sepúlveda families before William H. Spurgeon purchased the land and formally founded the city in 1869. Named for the Santa Ana River, itself named for Saint Anne by early Spanish explorers, Santa Ana became the county seat when Orange County separated from Los Angeles in 1889 and grew as the region's commercial and civic heart. Today Santa Ana is the administrative and cultural center of Orange County, home to the county government, the federal courthouse, and major civic institutions. It is also one of the most diverse and densely populated cities in Southern California, with a predominantly Latino population, a large Vietnamese community, and nearly half its residents foreign-born — a mix reflected in its food, businesses, and neighborhoods. In recent decades, downtown Santa Ana has undergone a cultural revival. The Artists Village, built around historic buildings such as the Santora Arts Building, anchors a district of galleries, studios, and the Cal State Fullerton Grand Central Art Center, while the Bowers Museum and the Discovery Cube draw families and visitors. Residents are served by the Santa Ana Unified School District and Santa Ana College, and the Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center ties the city into Amtrak, Metrolink, and regional bus networks. Santa Ana offers urban energy, historic character, and central Orange County convenience, appealing to those who want a real city within reach of the county's jobs and coastline.