Old Eucalyptus Grove 
( now Norma Gibbs Butterfly Park )
 Supplement to Mom's 2004 book "Old Pirate Lane"

We know the grove was planted sometime around 1906, when the Graham farm house was built.
And clearly seen in the 1928 aerial photo. I am going to post some photos containing the grove
before it was a Huntington Beach city park. The earliest photo I have I think is 1959.


From the airport looking North at Heil Ave. Grove on the right. And that's right, no houses North of Heil!


1961-62, My brother Robert on the right. Center of grove looking Northwest. 


Fire! From time to time someone tossing a cigarette would torch up the ground cover, which
was several inches of dry leaves & small branches.


This is early 70's. This is the end next to the Little League Ball Park.


My brother Richard Runyard, AKA Fuzzy. About 1971.
You can see a bit of the ball field in the background.



1976. This is the North side of the grove. Just starting to build the big two-story houses 
on Graham Street. Grove is pretty dense, and tall!



My friend Brian in 1978. A lot of rain that year, followed by high winds knocked
many trees down in the grove.
Center of grove looking toward Graham Street.

1958-59, looking North. The Eucalyptus grove is thick and tall. The houses are on 
Old Pirate Lane. Complete with windmill. Old Pirate is now called "Old Pirate Drive".
Gibbs Park was once called "Sims Grove".



Northwest side of the grove, early 60's ( Gibbs Park ). Richard Runyard grazing one of the horses. The house in the 
background belongs to Mrs. Bell.

In the early days, there was a old cabin in the grove. Northeast corner, about 100 feet in from Graham Street.
By 1958, this cabin burned. The roof was gone but the floor and walls were still in place. 
The last residents to live in it were a Cherokee couple and their kids. A few years later, this cabin
was removed, except for four cement foundation slabs for each corner. The cement was removed sometime in the late 1970's.
Recently found: In August 2013, while cleaning my late parents house, I found a cassette tape with my parents and
our neighbors the Hamilton's. In this tape they talked about the history of this little area.
Old Pirate Lane, The Eucalyptus grove & Meadowlark. This was taped in the late 1970's.
Hear it told by a long time resident (1946 ), Vern Hamilton. VOICE TAPE of "The History of Old Pirate Lane"



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