Phil Brigandi (1959-2019) was an

independent scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher ...

specializing in the history of

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

with a focus on the

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

area who published 26 books from 1982 to 2018. For 30 years he served as the historian for

Hemet, California Hemet is a city in the San Jacinto Valley in Riverside County, California. It covers a total area of , about half of the valley, which it shares with the neighboring city of San Jacinto. The population was 89,833 at the 2020 census. The foundin ...

Ramona Pageant ''The Ramona Outdoor Play'', formerly known as (and still commonly called) ''The Ramona Pageant'', is an outdoor play staged annually in Hemet, California since 1923. It is based on the 1884 novel ''Ramona'' by Helen Hunt Jackson. History and ...

and was Orange County's

archivist An archivist is an information professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to Document, records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records maintained by an archivist c ...

for 5 years, starting in 2003. His books were published through

Arcadia Publishing Arcadia Publishing is an American publisher of neighborhood, local, and regional history of the United States in pictorial form.(analysis of the successful ''Images of America'' series). Arcadia Publishing also runs the History Press, which publi ...

Heritage Media Heritage Media Corporation (NYSE: HTG) was a media company which owned television and radio stations across the United States, as well as in-store and direct marketing companies. It was based in Dallas, Texas, from 1987 to 1997. History Heritage ...

, local natural history organizations, and the

University of Oklahoma Press The University of Oklahoma Press (OU Press) is the publishing arm of the University of Oklahoma. Founded in 1929 by the fifth president of the University of Oklahoma, William Bennett Bizzell, it was the first university press to be established i ...

. Throughout his life he spoke about the importance of local history and its ability to create a sense of place. After his passing in 2019, he was memorialized in articles for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', ''

The Orange County Register ''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digital Fiest/Media News subsidiaries. ...

'', and elsewhere. He was regularly cited in numerous articles for various local city and county newspapers and magazines for his expertise. He maintained a website ''OC Historyland'' until his passing.

Personal life

Brigandi had been a researcher since 1975, who grew up in the city of

Orange, California Orange is a city located in North Orange County, California. It is approximately north of the county seat, Santa Ana, California, Santa Ana. Orange is unusual in this region because many of the homes in its Old Town District were built before ...

. He graduated from Orange High School in 1977 and from

California State University, Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...

in 1982 with a degree in history. He published his first book at the age of 23. Brigandi regularly preserved historical writings, such as newspaper clippings from offices that were due to be destroyed. He enjoyed hiking and never owned a cellphone. In 2003, he became Orange County's official archivist, an office that had been closed since 1995 due to the county's bankruptcy. He told the

Orange County Register ''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digital Fiest/Media News subsidiaries. ...

, "Local history is important because it provides a connection to where we live, a sense of place. We need people committed to deal with the issues in our neighborhoods. We need to encourage a connection to place.” In 2012, fellow local historian Jim Sleeper passed away, who ''

'' referred to as the county's first historian. Brigandi had known Sleeper for about 35 years, and commented, "He wrote like the person he was. He had a wry sense of humor and his own way of looking at the world."{{Cite web , date=2012-09-28 , title=O.C. loses its first historian, Jim Sleeper , url=https://www.ocregister.com/2012/09/28/oc-loses-its-first-historian-jim-sleeper/ , access-date=2022-12-13 , website=Orange County Register , language=en-US After Brigandi's passing in 2019, his brother Chris noted, "Phil found a purpose and passion at a young age, and he loved what he did. He stayed true to himself and was a kind and loving human being. His good work was far-reaching and beneficial to many. He is deeply missed."

Publications

* ''The Plaza. A Local Drama in Five Acts'' (1982) * ''Looking Back . . . on the Ramona Pageant'' (1985) * ''A New Creation. The Incorporation of the City of Orange, 1888'' (1988) * ''A Place Called Home. Orange’s Architectural Legacy'' (with Karen Wilson Turnbull) (1990) * ''The First 100 Years of West Orange Elementary'' (1990) * ''Garnet Holme: California’s Pageant Master'' (1991) * ''Prayers, Presence, Gifts and Service. A Centennial History of the Hemet United Methodist Church, 1894-1994'' (1994) * ''Orange, The City ‘Round the Plaza'' (1997) * ''The Ramona Pageant. A Pictorial History, 1923-1998'' (1997) * ''Temecula, at the Crossroads of History'' (1998) * ''First Church. A 125th Anniversary History of the First United Methodist Church of Orange'' (1998) * ''Watson’s Drug Store. A Downtown Orange Tradition. A Centennial History, 1899-1999'' (1999) * ''100 Years of Headline News'' (1999) * ''Building the Future. The Story of the Eastern Municipal Water District'' (2000) * ''Old Orange County Courthouse; A Centennial History'' (2001) * ''Borrego Beginnings. Early Days in the Borrego Valley, 1910-1960'' (2001) * ''“Out Among the Groves of Orange” A History of Orange Union High School, 1903-1953'' (2003) * ''Barnstorming the Desert. The Life of Randall Henderson, Founder of'' Desert Magazine ''and a Pioneer Pilot of the Desert Southwest'' (2004) * ''Orange County Place Names A to Z'' (2006) * ''Images of America: Orange'' (2008) * ''On My Honor, A Century of Scouting in Orange County, California'' (2010) * ''A Brief History of Orange, The Plaza City'' (2011) * ''Orange County Chronicles'' (2013) * ''Visiting Orange County’s Past'' (2014) * ''A Call for Reform, The Southern California Indian Writings of Helen Hunt Jackson'' (with Valerie Sherer Mathes) (2015) * ''Reservations, Removal, and Reform; The Mission Indian Agents of Southern California, 1878-1903'' (with Valerie Sherer Mathes) (2018)

References

American historians Local historians History of Orange County, California