Much of the area was annexed by Orange in the 1960s and 1970s, but there are still enclaves of unincorporated county land to the east of the high school.

Between the time of its foundation in the 1880s to the suburban development boom in the late 1950s, El Modena was an area filled with citrus groves.

[3] Like the trailer parks of western Santa Ana facing the Santa Ana River, and Panorama Heights within Orange and facing Tustin, the El Modena neighborhood is among the poorest parts of Orange County.

[4] In June 1993, the El Modena Family Resource Center opened to combat gang violence in the area.

The project valiantly succeeded, and gang related crime dropped drastically, as well as violent incidents.