The Orange County Agricultural and Nikkei Heritage Museum has been built on the grounds of the Fullerton Arboretum and has been designed along the lines of a packing house. California State University, Fullerton, and the Fullerton Arboretum are working together to open the museum to the public. The inside of the building is divided into four sections: Nikkei, Pioneer, Educational, and Transportation and Geography. We also have a small bookstore and the Potting Shack will move its plant sales adjacent to the bookstore alcove.

The museum is going to highlight the history, development, and impact of agriculture, as well as the contributions of the Japanese American community, in the growth of Orange County. This introductory exhibit will be a peek into upcoming planned exhibitions and will be open throughout the summer.

The first major exhibit is planned for September, 2006, and will focus on the Nikkei. Sowing Dreams, Cultivating Lives: The Japanese American Farmer will journey with the early Japanese immigrants to California, and follow their stories as they establish permanent communities in Orange County by marrying, raising families, founding schools and social groups, and above all, cultivating the land.

The second exhibit will open in February, 2007, and will focus on the Pioneer families. A Determined Lot: Orange County Pioneer Farmers will chart the paths taken by the pioneer families who settled in the county and consider their motives, motivations, and incentives as they farmed the land and created innovations that changed the landscape.

The third upcoming exhibit will open in July, 2007, and will deal with transportation, marketing, water issues, and geography. From Grower to Market will follow produce from the fields and orchards to the packing houses and markets. The committed labor of a diverse group of Orange County residents combined with improvements, inventions, and discoveries in transportation, science, and marketing to modernize the farming industry and make California an agricultural giant.

As Mexican and other ethnic groups are also part of our Orange County history, their stories will also be part of our exhibitions. It is our belief that history does not happen in a vacuum and many people had and have roles in the development of agriculture in our county and the interconnections will be emphasized.

While the Nikkei exhibit section will be a permanent part of the museum, each section’s displays will relate to the others throughout all the shows as agricultural, social, and cultural elements of the history of the county are intricately interrelated. There is also the educational section where adults and students of all ages can interact with and learn from the displays, artifacts, and information presented by each section.

The Fullerton Arboretum is working closely with the Center for Oral and Public History (COPH) at CSUF and will include a recording booth in the Nikkei area for people who wish to share their families' stories.

At our March 21st opening we will have as speakers:

Greg Dyment, Director, Fullerton Arboretum
Richard Foster, President, Fullerton Arboretum Commission
Dr. Milton A. Gordon, President, CSUF
A. G. Kawamura, Secretary, California Department of Food and Agriculture
Chris Norby, Orange County Supervisor
Leland Wilson, Mayor of Fullerton

The reception on March 21st will begin at 2:00pm with guest speakers introduced beginning at 2:30pm, and ending at 5:00pm. There will be refreshments and entertainment.

Andrea Harris McGee, Director at Grand Central Art Center in Santa Ana, is the Project Coordinator.