Beacon Bay was founded by John Martin Shea in 1965. The name Beacon Bay came from a residential tract on Newport Bay, developed by longtime Newport Harbor booster Joseph Beck beginning in 1939.
In 1965 the population of Orange County was approximately 1,175,000 people, one third of the population today.

Disneyland had opened 10 years prior in 1955.
There were 534,740 autos, 61,291 trucks, and 17,557 motorcycle registered in Orange County.

What was Orange County driving? Well in 1965 over 1,000,000 Chevy Impala’s were sold, almost tying the record sales of the previous year.





Fundraising
Beacon Bay has had a long tradition of fund raising in the community. We have supported Make a Wish for many years helping to raise thousands of dollars.
Volunteers from Make a Wish are at our sites the first weekend of every month.
Please come out and support them.

This car was a “muscle car” that rocked and rolled onto the market in 1965 and introduced the classic 409 cubic inch model that the Beach Boys sang about. “Giddy up, Giddy up 409.” The basic model sold from between $2700 to $2800 depending on the options. All you needed was an eight track tape player and you had it made.

But change was on its way and in 1965 the first Toyota Corona was also introduced.

Freeways were continuing to be built and the county was accelerating its transition from agriculture to tourism, manufacturing and the service sector. South Orange County began to grow in the 1960’s with Master Planned Communities such as Irvine, Mission Viejo, and Laguna Niguel.