La Habra, California

La Habra is a city located in the northwestern corner of Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 58,974. Its related city, La Habra Heights is located to the north of La Habra, and is in Los Angeles County.

1 Origin of Name
2 History
3 Geography
4 Demographics
5 External links

[edit] Origin of Name

In the ranchos days when vast herds of Mexican cattle and horses grazed over the hills and valleys of Southern California, Don Mariano Reyes Roldan was granted 6,698 acres and named his land Rancho Cañada de La Habra. The year was 1839, and the name referred to the “Pass Through the Hills,” the natural pass to the north first discovered by Spanish explorers in 1769. In the 1860s Abel Stearns purchased Rancho de La Habra. Soon thereafter, heavy flooding followed by a severe drought brought bankruptcy to many cattle ranchers.

[edit] History

The first La Habra Post Office was established in 1898 in a corner of Coy's Store at Central (now La Habra Boulevard) and Euclid Street.

The City was incorporated under general law on January 20, 1925 with a population of 3,000. The Police Force was organized in 1926 and employed a Chief, Traffic Officer and Patrolman. By 1928, the City bore the distinction of being the largest avocado center in Southern California. In 1930 the first Fire Department building was constructed followed by the original City Hall in 1935. By 1950 the population reached nearly 5,000. The Civic Center took shape when the existing County Library was dedicated in 1966, followed by the present Administration Building in 1969.

Richard Milhous Nixon opened his first law office in La Habra just west of the Civic Center on the north side of La Habra Boulevard. That brick building was demolished in the 1990s for the construction of the City's Community Center.

For over seventy years La Habra was home to the Hass Avocado Mother Tree, an accidental seedling planted by Rudolph Hass in the 1920s. The fruit from this tree has since become one of the most popular avocado cultivars worldwide. The Hass Mother Tree succumbed to root rot in 2002.

[edit] Geography

La Habra is located at 33°55′46″N, 117°57′6″W (33.929313, -117.951718).^GR1

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.0 km² (7.3 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 58,974 people, 18,947 households, and 14,020 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,106.4/km² (8,045.8/mi²). There were 19,441 housing units at an average density of 1,024.0/km² (2,652.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 63.00% White, 1.57% Black or African American, 0.96% Native American, 5.93% Asian, 0.22% Pacific Islander, 23.66% from other races, and 4.67% from two or more races. 49.04% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 18,947 households out of which 39.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.5% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.0% were non-families. 21.0% 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 3.08 and the average family size was 3.56.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.1% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, 18.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 97.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $47,652, and the median income for a family was $51,971. Males had a median income of $36,813 versus $30,466 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,923. About 9.1% of families and 12.9% of the population were below the poverty lineover.