MONTEBELLO, CALIFORNIA

'Montebello' is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 62,150.

Contents

History

Geography

Demographics

2006 High School flag controversy

Emergency services

Education

Parks

Sister cities

Trivia

References

External links

History

Before the arrival of the Spaniards, the land along the Rio Hondo River was populated by the Tongva (Gabrielino) Native Americans. The Tongva occupied much of the Los Angeles basin and the islands of Santa Catalina, San Nicolas, San Clemente and Santa Barbara. When the Spanish explorer Juan Rodrigues Cabrillo arrived off the shores of Santa Catalina, the Tongva came out in their canoes to meet with him in 1542. The language of the Tongva was different from the neighboring Indian tribes and it was called Gabrielino by the Spanish.
The Gabrielinos lived in dome like structures with thatched exteriors. Both sexes wore long hair styles and tattooed their bodies. During warm weather the men wore little clothes but the women would wear minimal skirts made of animals hides. During the cold weather they would wear animal skin capes.
European diseases killed many of the Tongva and by 1870 the area had few left.
Franciscan Missionaries, Fathers Angel Somera and Pedro Cambon, founded the original Mission San Gabriel Arcangel on September 9, 1771, near where San Gabriel Boulevard now crosses the Rio Hondo which is also near the present day Sanchez Adobe Mansion. This marked the beginning of the Los Angeles region's settlement by Spaniards.
The San Gabriel Mission was the fourth of 21 missions that would ultimately be established along California's El Camino Real. The San Gabriel mission did well as a cattle ranch and farm, but six years after its founding a destructive flood led the mission fathers to relocate the establishment to its current location farther north in present day city of San Gabriel. The original mission site is now California Historical Landmark.^[1]
During the early years of the mission, the region operated under a Rancho system. The lands which now comprise the city of Montebello were originally parts of Rancho San Antonio, Rancho La Merced and Rancho Paso de Bartolo. The oldest house in Los Angeles county is the old San Antonio Ranch Gage Mansion located in present day Bell Gardens.^[2] The Juan Matias Sanchez Adobe mansion is also still standing at the center of old La Merced Rancho in Eastern Montebello in the La Merced area.
Another important event that took place in Montebello was the Battle of Rio San Gabriel on January 8, 1847. This battle is re-enacted every year in September. It was this battle that gave the United States the opportunity to win California in the Mexican-American war. Today the site is California State Historical Landmark #385, and there are two old cannons and a plaque commemorating the battle overlooking the river on Bluff Rd. and Washington Blvd.
Following the American Civil War, some five thousand acres of the East Los Angeles region was owned by an Italian settler, Alessandro Repetto. After Repetto's death in 1885, his rancho was purchased by a consortium of five Los Angeles businessmen including banker Isaias Hellman and wholesale grocer/historian Harris Newmark. Later the land was divided among the partners, one large parcel of approximately 2000 acres going to a partnership of Newmark and his nephew, banker Kaspare Cohn. Eventually, they subdivided this land, after seeking the advice of hydraulic engineer William Mulholland in the design and construction of a water system.^[3]
Two hundred acres adjacent to the tracks of the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad (now part of the Union Pacific Railroad) were developed into a townsite called Newmark, and the remainder of the land was subdivided into larger lots suitable for small-scale agriculture. On Mulholland's suggestion, this land was given the name Montebello, which was adopted as the city's name, replacing the original name Newmark when it incorporated in 1920.^[4] The name, Montebello, which means ''beautiful hill'' in both Italian and Spanish, is shared with several other communities in Europe and the Americas.
Newmark was originally an agricultural community. The discovery of oil by Standard Oil Company on the Anita Baldwin property in 1917 brought about a revolutionary change to Newmark. The agricultural hills soon became a major contributor to oil production. By 1920, it's oil fields were producing one-eighth of California's crude oil. On October 19, 1920, the cities name was changed to Montebello and it was incorporated as the 35th of the present cities in Los Angeles County.
Montebello is also home to a significant Japanese-Peruvian and Japanese-Hawaiian community, who settled in the area after WWII and the internment camps

Geography

Montebello is located 8 miles east of downtown Los Angeles at the southwestern part of the San Gabriel Valley. The surrounding cities are Monterey Park, South San Gabriel, and Rosemead to the north, Commerce to the south, Pico Rivera to the east, and Los Angeles and East Los Angeles to the west.
Montebello is located at (34.014412, -118.114501).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 21.6 km² (8.4 mi²). 21.4 km² (8.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (1.32%) is water.
The city is easily accessible to the Long Beach ''(710)'' , San Gabriel River ''(605)'' , Pomona ''(60)'' and Santa Ana ''(5)'' Freeways.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 62,150 people, 18,844 households, and 14,867 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,908.6/km⊃ (7,536.9/mi²). There were 19,416 housing units at an average density of 908.7/km² (2,354.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 46.82% White, 0.90% African-American, 1.23% Native American, 11.64% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 33.85% from other races, and 5.48% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 74.57% of the population.
Montebello also boasts one of the largest Puerto Rican populations in Los Angeles County. Long Beach has the largest Puerto Rican concentration in the county. The city of Montebello used to host the only Puerto Rican parade west of Chicago annually in June but has disappeared since 2004 due to lack of funding and issues with the city.
There were 18,844 households out of which 40.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% were married couples living together, 20.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.1% were non-families. 17.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.28 and the average family size was 3.67.
In the city the population was spread out with 28.6% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 18.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 92.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $38,805, and the median income for a family was $41,257. Males had a median income of $30,423 versus $26,590 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,125. About 14.2% of families and 17.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.3% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.
Though its residents are predominantly Latino and Asian, Montebello also has a significant Armenian population.

2006 High School flag controversy

On 27 March 2006 students from several schools marched to Montebello High School as part of that day's nationwide immigration reform protests. Students from other schools lowered down the American flag, replacing it with the Mexican flag, then placed the American flag upside down below the Mexican flag. One student was punished because of the incident.^[5]

Emergency services

Fire protection in Montebello is provided by the Montebello Fire Department and is headed by Chief Steve Huson. The Montebello Police Department is headed by Chief Garry Couso-Vasquez.

Education

The city is served by the Montebello Unified School District.
Montebello High School and Schurr High School(1972) are the 2 public high schools in the City of Montebello. Cantwell High School, a private school, is also located in Montebello.

Parks

One of Montebello's best-loved city parks is Grant Rea Park, which houses the Montebello Barnyard Zoo.

Sister cities

★ 'Stepanakert', Nagorno-Karabakh (2005)

Trivia

★ The Juan Matias Sanchez Adobe, built in 1844, is the oldest standing structure in the city.

★ Edward James Olmos[] was a graduate of Montebello High School.^[6]

★ Chris Ware (Bearman), high school basketball legend, was a graduate of Montebello High School in 2001

★ Judi Evans Luciano[1] Born in Montebello, Star on "Days of Our Lives".^[7]

★ Darlene Hard, (tennis player) 2-time U.S. Nationls Champion (1960, 1961), 1960 French Champion, Fed Cup Champ 1963. Won 18 grand slam titles in doubles and mixed doubles. Born in Montebello and a 1953 graduate of Montebello High.

★ Former Major Leaguer, original Los Angeles Angel, and 3-time Gold Glove Winner (1966-68) at 2nd Base, Bobby Knopp.

★ Jack Kramer, 3-time Wimbledon Champ, 7-time U.S. Champ, 3-time Davis Cup Champ

★ Alan Bannister, born in Montebello, was a former MLB player.

★ Nobel Prize Winner Dr. Bruce Merrifield, Montebello High School class of 1939.^[8]

★ Council Member Bob Bagwell, active in the community since childhood, played for a time with the San Diego Chargers.
The current Mayor is Norma Lopez-Reid.

References

1. Los Angeles
2. Gage Mansion - Oldest Remaining Home in Los Angeles County
3. Sixty years in Southern California, 1853-1913, containing the reminiscences of Harris Newmark
4. City names stem from trees, ranches - even a goddess Cecilia Rasmussen
5. Teen punished for U.S. flag flip
6. Edward James Olmos
7. Judi Evans' Biography
8. Bruce Merrifield - Biography

External links

★ City of Montebello official website