Westminster, California

Westminster is a city in Orange County, California, United States. It was founded in 1870 by Rev. Lemuel Webber as a Presbyterian temperance colony. Its name is taken from the Westminster Assembly of 1643, which laid out the basic tenets of the Presbyterian faith. For several years of its early history, its farmers refused to grow grapes because they associated grapes with alcohol.

Westminster was incorporated in 1957, at which time it had 10,755 residents. Originally, the city was named Tri-City because it was the amalgamation of three cities: Westminster, Barber City, and Midway City. Midway City ultimately turned down incorporation, leaving Barber City to be absorbed into the newly incorporated Westminster. The former Barber City was located in the western portion of the current City of Westminster.

Westminster is landlocked and bordered by Seal Beach on the west, by the unincorporated area of Rossmoor, the city of Stanton and the community of West Garden Grove on the north, by Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley on the south, and by Santa Ana on the east.

Westminster surrounds the unincorporated area of Midway City, except for a small portion where Midway City meets Huntington Beach to the south.

A large number of Vietnamese refugees came to the city in the 1970s, settling largely in an area now officially named Little Saigon. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 88,207. Westminster won the All-America City Award in 1996.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Education
4 Notable residents
5 Trivia
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] Geography

Westminster is located at 33°45′5″N, 117°59′38″W (33.751418, -117.993929).^GR1

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 26.2 km² (10.1 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 88,207 people, 26,406 households, and 20,411 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,368.6/km² (8,724.2/mi²). There were 26,940 housing units at an average density of 1,028.8/km² (2,664.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 45.79% White, 0.99% African American, 0.61% Native American, 38.13% Asian, 0.46% Pacific Islander, 10.19% from other races, and 3.84% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 21.70% of the population.

There were 26,406 households out of which 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.4% were married couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.7% were non-families. 16.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.32 and the average family size was 3.71.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.9% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 99.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $49,450, and the median income for a family was $54,399. Males had a median income of $37,157 versus $28,392 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,218. About 10.7% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.0% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Education

Four different school districts have boundaries that overlap parts or more of the City of Westminster:

Westminster School District
Garden Grove Unified School District
Huntington Beach Union High School District
Ocean View School District

[edit] Notable residents

Harrod Blank, documentary filmmaker
Bud Hare Engine tuner,land speed and drag race record holder and Inventor.
Barry Seevers Engineer,Tuner,Engine builder record holder.
Chuck Fraher Blues Guitar Player,Song Writer and Inventor of the Blues Tube.
Larry Hanson Country Western Guitar player for the Band Alabama and The Righteous Brothers
Bob Deal Aka Mick Mars guitar player for Rock and Roll band Mötley Crüe
Edward Bane Major league Baseball Player, Director of scouting for the Angels ball club.
Dain Ginerelli Journalist
Hurley Wilvert AMA pro rider, Motorcycle record holder, Engineer.
Carlo Palomino Boxer Former Walterweight Champion.

[edit] Trivia

Five Major League Baseball players were born in Westminster...Jeromy Burnitz (1969), Steve Montgomery (1970), Ryan Klesko (1971), Mike Burns (1978), and Gerald Laird (1979).
Only one Major League Baseball player has died in Westminster...Jess Buckles (1975).
Bradley Nowell, 1968-1996, lead singer of the eclectic Ska, Reggae band Sublime has a headstone in the Westminster Memorial Cemetery. His ashes were scattered at his favorite surfspot near Seal Beach, CA.
The popular Vietnamese music company, Thuy Nga's United States headquarters, is located here.