For nearly 30 years, the Victorian Tea Society has served as a fund-raising auxiliary for Heritage Museum of Orange County. VTS hosts themed teas and other events several times a year to benefit children’s educational programs at the Museum. As a volunteer organization, members donate their time and talents in an effort to support the Museum.

VTS members engage in a variety of Victorian-related activities, including visiting other museums, sipping from steaming cups at local tea houses, and participating in workshops on nineteenth-century crafts, customs, decorating styles, and more. Members are encouraged to dress in their Victorian finery on such “Tea Tramp” outings.

Proceeds from this event support educational programs at Heritage Museum of Orange County!

Heritage Museum of Orange County is a cultural and natural history center in Southern California. The centerpiece of the museum, which covers nearly 12 acres in all, is a historic plaza featuring several buildings from the 1890s set amid extensive floral gardens and citrus groves. Among the buildings is the Kellogg House familiar to teachers and students throughout Orange County as a favorite field trip destination for over 30 years.

Additional features found at HMOC include our Gospel Swamp Farm and Gospel Swamp Natural Area. The farm project is maintained by local high school and college volunteers. We’re currently installing a “Borrowing Barn” for tool lending and we utilize produce from the farm for our children’s educational programs and other museum events. Previously on site there was a fully operational blacksmith shop that was headquarters for the Orange County Blacksmith Guild and guild members held regular blacksmith classes. Unfortunately, the shop burned down in the wee hours of July 4, 2019 and it is now necessary to rebuild the shop. While there is no definitive schedule for a rebuild of the Blacksmith shop, we hope to have it up and running again as soon as possible.

The latest major campaign for the museum is to restore the John A. Maag Farmhouse. The home, built in 1899, features three stories in 5,600 square feet of interior living space and is planned for the housing of museum archives, offices and exhibitions. Two original outbuildings of the Maag Farmhouse currently house offices, meeting space and our gift shop.

Holly Berry Tea 2021

By Heritage Museum of Orange County

Holly Berry Tea 2021

Silver Bell Event