State Historical Designation Received

Known commonly as Historic Wintersburg, on May 9, 2025 the Huntington Beach property - the subject of years of community advocacy which is ongoing - was officially determined historic by the State Historical Resources Commission for its association with Orange County’s Japanese American history. This is an important milestone, but the road ahead to pursue acquisition is long, and the services of professional historic preservation consultants will be required. This campaign seeks your donations to help fund those future steps.

Nominated by the Historic Wintersburg Conservancy as the Wintersburg Historic District, the approximately 4.5-acre property consists of the Spanish Colonial Revival style Japanese Presbyterian Church of Wintersburg, constructed in 1934, and three buildings associated with C.M. Furuta farm- the Crafstman style Furuta House #1 and adjacent Furuta Barn, both constructed in 1912, and the Ranch style Furuta House #2, constructed in 1947.

The State Historical Resources Commission (SHRC), a nine-member body with members appointed by the Governor, is responsible for reviewing applications for listing historic and archaeological resources on the National Register of Historic Places, the California Register of Historical Resources, and the California Historical Landmarks and California Points of Historical Interest registration programs. These designations make up an official list of the state’s historic places worthy of preservation and public attention.

The SHRC agreed with the nomination that Wintersburg is significant because it represents the surviving remnant of the former farming community of Wintersburg historically associated with Japanese settlement in the area in the early twentieth century and after World War II.The SHRC also recommended Wintersburg to the National Register of Historic Places on November 7, 2025 and although the federal authorities agreed formally that it met the qualifications, they announced on January 2, 2026 that the property would not be added to the National Register because the property owner, Republic Services, did not consent to the action.

The significance of Wintersburg and the interest in protecting it has long been acknowledged. In 2014, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named it one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places and designated it a National Treasure in 2015, yet the property remains endangered today. Vacant for nearly two decades and never adequately secured and mothballed, the buildings are in poor condition. In 2022, a fire led to the destruction of the original 1910 mission and parsonage. The property is currently for sale.

Established in 2023, the Historic Wintersburg Conservancy is a 501c3 tax-exempt charity carrying on the work of Huntington Beach resident and longtime Wintersburg advocate and historian, Mary Adams Urashima, who passed away in 2022. The conservancy board of directors is made up of residents from Orange and Los Angeles counties who share Mary’s vision of restoring the structures and rehabilitating the open land to create an historic park that is a tangible representation of the Japanese American past and provides a community amenity for the future.

Preparation of the nomination by Historic Resources Group of Pasadena was made possible with funding raised by the Historic Wintersburg Conservancy from hundreds of individual donors as well as the Aratani C.A.R.E. Awards.

All funds collected through this campaign are deposited into an account held by Historic Wintersburg Conservancy, a nonprofit public benefit corporation and 501c3 tax-exempt charity based in Huntington Beach, California.

To learn more about Wintersburg and why it is important, click on the sources below:

Historic Wintersburg Blog by Mary Adams Urashima

Preserve Orange County's Most Endangered List

Historic Wintersburg Conservancy logo

Historic Wintersburg Acquisition Planning

By Historic Wintersburg Conservancy

Historic Wintersburg Acquisition Planning

Help us pay for historic preservation consultants needed to pursue acquisition