FOCUS : Trees Have Roots in Placentia Grass Eaters Cult

"In 1872, the trust gave one of its agents, Col. J.K. Tuffree, 662 acres as a wedding present. Four years later, the colonel sold 24 acres of his land to George R. Hinde, the found of a religious colony which ate only raw vegetables and fruits on the theory that cooking destroys the spiritual essence of food, which they believed to be the clothing of the soul."

"Legend has it that Hinde, a transplanted New Yorker, promptly set about erecting a huge, $10,000, two-story mansion in which all the members of the colony cohabited, but did not commingle. Of particular interest to lookers-on was the hulking, round turret tower. Rumor had it that all the rooms in the mansion were round, because round rooms supposedly would wa"

"Sandwiched unceremoniously between the pool and tennis court are two macadamia nut trees documented by a bronze plaque embedded in a brick platform. They are the only living testimony of a bygone era and the existence of a colorful, mysterious cult known as the Placentia Grass Eaters."

A seemingly ordinary middle-class neighborhood in Orange County contains hidden historical significance. Beneath its contemporary suburban appearance of tract homes and family residences lies the forgotten legacy of the Placentia Grass Eaters, a religious colony founded in 1876. The land's history traces back to 1837 when Spain granted 35,790 acres to Juan Pacifico Ontiveros. Through various property transactions, 24 acres eventually passed to George R. Hinde, who established a religious community based on consuming only raw vegetables and fruits. Members believed cooking destroyed food's spiritual essence, which they considered the soul's clothing. Hinde constructed an elaborate $10,000 mansion featuring distinctive round rooms and a prominent turret tower, where colony members lived communally without intimate relations. Today, only two macadamia nut trees and a bronze plaque commemorate this colorful, mysterious chapter of local history.

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