Walnut, California

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Street sign in Walnut

Location of Walnut, California

Walnut is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 30,004 at the 2000 census and its current mayor is Tom King.

The area was once predominantly white. Upper-middle-class Asian immigrants have settled in Walnut, where they now form the majority of the population. As with other parts of the San Gabriel Valley, many immigrants are from Taiwan, but there is a growing affluent expatriate population from Hong Kong, Philippines and China as well. The growing amount of Asian-owned businesses - although Mainland Chinese noodle and dumpling eateries are represented - are not an uncommon sight in the area. Walnut is part of a small cluster of communities (along with Rowland Heights, California, Hacienda Heights, California, Diamond Bar, California, and Chino Hills, California) in the region with large concentrations of Asian Americans of Chinese decent. Walnut is also one of eight cities in California that have at least 50% Asian Americans in their populations. Other cities include Milpitas, Monterey Park, Cerritos, Rowland Heights, San Gabriel, San Marino and Rosemead .

The Taiwanese American high-tech company ViewSonic is based in the city. There are also ethnic Chinese companies operating in neighboring City of Industry, California.

With exceptions to some busy intersections (such as near Mt. San Antonio College), the hilly and affluent city is considerably more relaxed in comparison to most nearby neighborhoods.

1 History
2 Walnut Family Festival
3 Demographics
4 Education
5 Notable Natives/Residents
6 External links

[edit] History

The history of Walnut dates back to the Indians who were of Shoshone origin. They were called Gabrielino Indians by the Spaniards because they lived in an area controlled by the San Gabriel Mission. Walnut was primarily used for the grazing of cattle and sheep by the Mission.

Spaniards who arrived here in the early 1800s introduced the concept of ranchos and started agricultural development and the creation of home sites. The first land grants in the Walnut area were those of the Rancho De San Jose granted to Don Ricardo Vejar and Don Ygnacio Palomares; the Rancho De Los Nogales, issued to Jose De La Cruz Linares; and Rancho La Puente, issued to John Rowland and William Workman in 1842 which consisted of a total of 48,790.5 acres. The City of Walnut was included as part of one of the 24 ranchos belonging to the San Gabriel Mission

In 1868, John Rowland and William Workman divided Rancho La Puente, leaving Rowland the eastern half and Workman the western half. Rowland’s land included the western portion of Walnut. The land was used for raising cattle and growing wheat, grapes, and fruit trees.

Many years earlier in 1840, Mexican Governor Juan Alvardo awarded a man named Jose De La Cruz Linares a land grant of 4,340 acres, land which included a portion of Walnut. This land was known as Rancho De Nogales, or Ranch of the Walnut Trees. In 1847, seven years after the unfortunate death of Linares, the rancho was acquired Ricardo Vejar. This land included the eastern portion of Walnut and became part of Rancho San Jose. The City of Walnut originally obtained its name from the Rancho De Los Nogales land grant, Nogales being the Spanish word for walnut.

In order the preserve part of our community’s history, the City of Walnut’s Bicentennial Commission selected the construction of Lemon Creek Park and the restoration of the William R. Rowland Adobe Redwood Ranch House as Walnut’s bicentennial project. In 1871, the Lemon Creek Park area became the property of Sheriff William Rowland, who inherited the 29,000 acre ranch from his father, John Rowland. The modest structure served as the home of Mr. Meridith, ranch foreman for William Rowland. It was built in 1883. The adobe redwood ranch house is one of the few remaining original ranch style redwood and adobe structures in the area. On October 1, 1975, the State Landmark Committee placed the W.R. Rowland ranch house in the National Registry of Historical Places.

[edit] Walnut Family Festival

One of the most notable aspects of Walnut is the Walnut Family Festival. For one day each year during the fall, several larger streets are closed in the early hours of the morning and a parade is held in which many local clubs and groups participate. Later in the afternoon, a fair with booths, games, food, and activities is held in Suzanne Park, adjacent to Suzanne Middle School.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 30,004 people, 8,260 households, and 7,582 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,290.0/km² (3,340.5/mi²). There were 8,395 housing units at an average density of 360.9/km² (934.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 55.75% Asian, 28.37% White, 4.20% African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 7.65% from other races, and 3.71% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19.34% of the population.

There were 8,260 households out of which 50.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 77.1% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 8.2% were non-families. 5.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 1.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.63 and the average family size was 3.74.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.8% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 28.4% from 45 to 64, and 6.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 96.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $81,015, and the median income for a family was $82,977. Males had a median income of $51,944 versus $36,197 for females. The per capita income for the city was $25,196. About 5.8% of families and 6.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.8% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Education

Primary education in Walnut is generally served by the Walnut Valley Unified School District (WVUSD), which also serves parts of the city of Diamond Bar. Schools located in Walnut are:

Castle Rock Elementary School
C.J. Morris Elementary School
Collegewood Elementary School
Oswalt Elementary School
Vejar Elementary School
Walnut Elemtary School
Westhoff Elementary School
Suzanne Middle School
Del Paso High School
Walnut High School

In addition, Mt. San Antonio College, one of the California Community Colleges, is also located in Walnut near its border with Pomona.

[edit] Notable Natives/Residents

Paul Caligiuri, Retired Soccer Player; formerly with the Los Angeles Galaxy, inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2004.
Darius McCrary, Actor; known most for playing Eddie Winslow on the television show Family Matters.