Irvine era. Establishment of Newport When the ranchos were sold, some entrepreneurs were drawn to the Newport area. Two of them, James Irvine and James McFadden, emerged as leading visionaries, each with markedly different dreams for Newport. Irvine arrived with a love of the land and plans to prosper by amassing a great deal of ranch land. McFadden had an entirely different dream – he was intent on creating a town by dividing his land and selling it to as many who would buy, Convinced that the more settlers he could entice to Newport, the sooner it would emerge as an important commercial center, he was Newport's first passionate promoter. James Irvine was born in Ireland, the eighth of nine children. In 1846, at the age of 19, he joined the parade crossing the Atlantic, bound for New York. He continued his journey west, becoming a miner and a merchant. He was soon prosperous enough to partner with the Flints and Bixby to establish a wool business. When they had amassed enough money, they bought Sepulveda's rancho. They were also ready with cash when the Yorbas'- Peraltas' rancho was dissolved by court order. Soon, they were the largest landholders in the region, dominating over 100,000 acres. Tirelessly focused on ranching, Irvine and his descendants continued to own enormous tracts of land, their Irvine Ranch intricately intertwined with the evolution of Newport Beach. James McFadden, one of 11 children of Scottish ranchers, journeyed to California in 1868 and immediately saw the potential of the Newport area. Soon joined by his brother, Robert, they began buying as much as possible and subdividing it immediately, seeking buyers. After the Civil War, the parade of settlers significantly increased. While most sought prime agricultural land, some did gravitate to the Newport area and a small settlement was born. Desperate for materials and food, residents of this small settlement were thrilled when Captain Samuel Sumner Dunnels cautiously guided his 105-ton, flat-bottomed steamer Vaquero into the virtually unexplored Newport Bay, then known as San Joaquin Bay, on September 10, 1870. Heavily loaded with 5,000 shingles and 5,000 feet of lumber from San Diego, he entered the bay slowly. He was successful, and Newporters finally had a source of needed supplies. Before long, he had constructed a small wharf and warehouse near the west end of today's Newport Bay Bridge. During its early years, Newport had many names,