In 1893 George B. Key and his wife Mary came to Placentia, where he was the superintendent of the 110 acre Southern California Semi-Tropical Fruit Company Ranch, owned by Richard Gilman. That year Mr. and Mrs. Key purchased twenty acres on the northwest corner of what is now Placentia Avenue and Bastanchury Road.
Mr. Key planted approximately twelve acres of the ranch in Valencia Oranges of San Gabriel Stock. (Two of the original trees remain.) This made one of the finest groves in the County.
In 1898, Mr. Key built a two and a half story home on the ranch, which he moved into with his wife and children. The house was completed in 1908.
The hand made concrete block porch with pillars was added, as well as an addition to the south side of the house and a second story porch. The water tank and windmill were removed from the roof of the house and a tank house was built with a gasoline driven pump. A bathroom was built on the second floor where there were five bedrooms. The first floor included a kitchen, large service porch, workroom, music room, living room, library, and a very large dining room. The attic was finished for a bedroom.
Mr. Key began collecting farm equipment from neighboring ranches in the late 1950's, around the time many of the local growers began to sell their land for sub-division. Over the next twenty years, Mr. Key sold portions of the ranch, until in 1980, the 2.2 acres which now makes up the park, remained.
The County of Orange purchased Key Ranch to ensure the preservation of an important part of Orange County's agricultural past.
