Trabuco Canyon is north of the town of Rancho Santa Margarita. Plano Trabuco Road leads from the top of the canyon south to Rancho Santa Margarita.
History
Trabuco is Spanish for blunderbuss, a type of shotgun. Some credit a Franciscan friar traveling with the Gaspar de Portolá Expedition in 1769 with the story that a blunderbuss was lost in the canyon, after which the area was named. A mission was originally to be built in the canyon, but was instead established in San Juan Capistrano.[1]
The Trabuco Adobe was built in 1810 next to the Acjachemen village of Alume that was also identified during the 1769 Portolá expedition, where Juan Crespí wrote, "we made camp close to a village of the most tractable and friendly heathens we have seen upon the whole way."[2]
Trabuco Canyon was the site of attempts to mine tin in the early 1900s. Mining remains from this activity include: tunnels into the sides of the canyon (closed for public safety); the stone foundation of an ore-processing stamp mill; and several dams on the creek.
One of the last California grizzly bears was killed in Trabuco Canyon in 1908, a female bear thought to be the mate of the so-called "Monster of San Mateo."[6]
On October 21, 2007, a large wildfire started in Silverado Canyon and spread to Trabuco Canyon. The Canyon was evacuated by the Fire Department.[7]
On August 23, 2023, it was the site of a mass shooting that resulted in four dead, including the perpetrator, and six injured.[8][9]
For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau first listed Trabuco Canyon as a census-designated place (CDP) prior to the 2020 census.
2020 census
Trabuco Canyon CDP, California - Demographic Profile Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.