Modesta Ávila

Modesta Ávila (1867 or 1869 – September 1891) was a Californio ranchera and protester, best known for being the first convicted felon and first state prisoner in Orange County, California. Ávila had only received a minor warning in 1889 for placing an obstruction on the tracks to protest against the Santa Fe Railroad being built through her property without adequate compensation, but she continued to taunt the authorities, and was eventually arrested four months later.

Although the jury in her first trial was unable to reach agreement, Ávila was convicted after a second trial at Orange County Supreme Court and was sentenced to three years in San Quentin State Prison. Today Ávila is considered to be a folk heroine of Latino people of the county. It has been suggested that she is the "White Lady", a ghost whi is said to have been seen walking along the railroad tracks since the 1930s.