Mission Viejo is a commuter city located within Orange County, California, United States in the Saddleback Valley. Mission Viejo is considered one of the largest master-planned communities ever built under a single project in the United States and is rivaled only by Highlands Ranch, Colorado in its size. Its population as of 2017 was estimated at 96,016.

Mission Viejo is suburban in nature and culture. The city consists of residential property, although there are a number of offices and businesses within the limits of the city. The city is known for its tree-lined neighborhoods, receiving recognition from the National Arbor Day Foundation. The city's name is a reference to Rancho Mission Viejo, a large Spanish land grant from which the community was founded.

Mission Viejo was purchased by John Forster, also known as "Don Juan," an Englishman by birth who became a Mexican citizen. During the Mexican–American War, Forster provided fresh horses to United States military forces which were used on the march of San Diego to invade Los Angeles.

Mission Viejo was a hilly region primarily used as cattle and sheep grazing land, since it was of little use to farmers. This city was one of the last regions of Orange County to be urbanized due to its geologic complexity. In 1960, early developers dismissed most of the land in Mission Viejo as simply "undevelopable".

Mission Viejo is steeped in a tradition that dates back to the vanishing days of men on horses driving cattle.

Nearly 25 years ago, the Mission Viejo Co. bought a 10,000-acre section of Rancho Mission Viejo from the O'Neill family, which once owned much of the land from Oceanside to El Toro.

The company would create a master plan for a community, specifying the number of parks, homes, recreational activities and retail spaces.

The rolling hills of the valley, home to a sea of grazing cattle, soon would also become home to seekers of "The California Promise."

The vision for the community began in 1963 with a planners blueprint. The general development plan wound its way through the maze of county permits and by 1966 the first homes were sold, according to the Mission Viejo Co.

Fewer than a handful of changes - among them the additions of Saddleback College and lake Mission Viejo - have been made to that initial plan.

Currently, over 100,000 people call Mission Viejo home.

Famous Peoples From Mission Viejo

Jordan Harvey

Jordan Harvey (born January 28, 1984) is an American soccer player who plays as a left back for MLS side Los Angeles FC.

Harvey started playing club soccer with Strikers FC. Upon high school graduation he played college soccer at the University of California, Los Angeles for four years from 2002 to 2005 where he appeared in 69 games scoring 7 goals and notching 9 assists. During his college years he also played with Orange County Blue Star in the USL Premier Development League.

Harvey was drafted in the first round, 9th overall, in the 2006 MLS Supplemental Draft by the Colorado Rapids, and remained with the club for a number of years. He was his team's the leader in minutes having played – 2,613 – in the 2009 MLS season

He was selected by Philadelphia Union in the 2009 MLS Expansion Draft on November 25, 2009. Harvey scored his first goal for the Union off a header on April 15, 2010, in a 2–1 loss to Toronto FC.

On July 7, 2011, Harvey was traded to the Vancouver Whitecaps FC in exchange for allocation money. Harvey established himself as one of the starting left backs during the 2012 season when Alain Rochat moved to defensive midfield towards the end of the season.

Mission Viejo Points of Interest

Oso Creek Trail
Rancho Santa Margarita Lake
Norman P. Murray Community and Senior Center
Mission Viejo Lake
The Shops At Mission Viejo