Don Gaspár de Portolá, a Spanish expedition party leader, discovered a picturesque valley and river in Southern California which he christened Santa Ana, in honor of Saint Anne, on July 26, 1769. José Antonio Yorba, a youthful expedition soldier, and his nephew Juan Peralta, were given a Spanish land grant for the area. They developed the Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana for cattle grazing and productive farmland. In 1869, William H. Spurgeon purchased 70 acres from the Yorba family and plotted a townsite. The new town was given the name Santa Ana. In 1886, Santa Ana was incorporated as a city. Orange County was separated from Los Angeles in 1889, and Santa Ana was designated the County seat. Santa Ana is the financial and governmental center of Orange County and a major city in the state.