Montebello, California

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 San Gabriel Mission 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 number three of 21 missions that were to be established along the Camino Real. The San Gabriel mission did well as a cattle ranch and farm. Six years later a great flood caused the mission to be relocated to its current location farther north in present day San Gabriel City. It was known by European settlers as the mother of agriculture in California.

During the early years of the mission, the region operated under a Rancho system. The city of Montebello was originally part 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.[1] 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 the 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 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, most of the East Los Angeles region was owned by Alessandro Repetto. The land was carved into smaller areas after his death. Montebello, meaning beautiful hills in the Italian language, was named at the suggestion of a gentleman named William Mulholland. It was Mulholland who developed the Los Angeles region water system, which was incorporated as the Montebello Land and Water Company in 1900.

Montebello 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 Montebello. The agricultural hills soon became a major contributor to oil production. By 1920, Montebello oil fields were producing one-eighth of California's crude oil. On October 19, 1920, Montebello 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 [2].

[edit] 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°0′52″N, 118°6′52″W (34.014412, -118.114501)^GR1.

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.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 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.

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.

[edit] Emergency services

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

[edit] 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.