Historic Wintersburg Awarded $50,000 Preservation Grant

CURRENT VIEW: Historic Wintersburg in Huntington Beach, one of Orange County’s last surviving Japanese American church-farm communities.

By Ernie Nishii

Historic Wintersburg Conservancy has received a $50,000 grant to begin construction of foundations at the historic Huntington Beach site, marking an important step toward restoring one of Orange County’s last surviving Japanese American church and farming communities.

The grant was awarded through the Placekeepers Fund of Asian & Pacific Islander Americans in Historic Preservation, known as APIAHiP. Historic Wintersburg was selected from more than 60 qualified applicants nationwide, with only 14 organizations receiving funding.

Historic Wintersburg was recently designated on the California Register of Historical Resources and has developed partnerships with APIAHiP, Preserve Orange County, Ocean View School District, Tuna Canyon Detention Station Coalition and Republic Services.

The Conservancy also previously received a George and Sakaye Aratani Community Advancement Research Endowment grant.

The latest $50,000 award represents the organization’s first construction grant and will allow preservation efforts to move from planning toward physical restoration of the property.

Historic Wintersburg traces the history of Japanese immigration and settlement in Orange County and includes the remains of a Japanese American farming community and religious center established during the early 20th century.

The community’s history also is connected to the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, when families were forcibly removed from the West Coast.

Conservancy leaders envision the restored property as an educational site where future generations can learn about Japanese American settlement, farming, religious life and the wartime incarceration experience.

“Preservation funding at-large is already limited, and even harder to secure for historic sites related to underrepresented histories of underresourced communities,” APIAHiP Executive Director Huy Pham said. “We are proud to provide meaningful funding for the growing demand to preserve places crucial to telling our nation’s Asian and Pacific Islander American history.”

For longtime residents, the construction funding provides tangible evidence that restoration of the property is moving forward after years of uncertainty.