Our Story

For nearly 100-years, the site known as Bluebird Canyon Farms has been home to a colorful cast of characters. Mirroring Laguna Beach’s history its story is one of creativity, survival, & reinvention.

Prior to European settlement, Tongva or Acjachemen people occupied the canyons in well-defined permanent villages and seasonal camps up and down the Southern California coast. In the late 1800s to early 1900s the land in Bluebird Canyon was homesteaded by ethnic European settlers thinking it might hold treasure and resulting in futile attempts at mineral exploration.

In 1926 two brothers, William and Al Schleicher established the Tom Sawyer Camp for Boys onsite. In 1941, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the camp was relocated, and the site sold to the Hopkins family who used it as a retreat until the early 1960s.

During the 1970’s the site was occupied by a vibrant group of local artists and entrepreneurs and provided a place to meet, socialize, and exchange new ideas. After the Artists Community dissolved, the site was abandoned, falling into a long period of disrepair, until it was purchased in 2010 and efforts began to repair and transform it. Redeveloping the property from an eroding hillside filled with trash and debris into a thriving, operational farm took years of hard work. Spearheaded by the current owners, this project required stabilizing the site, removing invasive species, replanting native plants to combat erosion, completely renovating historic structures, and construction of sophisticated infrastructure needed to operate a permaculture farm. Please attend one of our Farm Tours to see and hear more about the results of this labor of love.