Arcadia California History Arcadia In Popular Culture

Arcadia was originally inhabited by the Tongva ("Gabrielino") Indian tribe, who were forced into slavery by Spanish colonizers at the San Gabriel Mission (in present-day San Gabriel, California). The Gabrielinos quickly were wiped out through a combination of overwork and exposure to European diseases. During the Mexican rule of California, a large area of land that included the present-day borders of Arcadia was sold to a Scottish immigrant, Hugo Reid. The land holding changed owners several times before falling into the hands of "Lucky" Baldwin, a real estate speculator who made millions off a silver mine in Virginia City, Nevada.

"Lucky" Baldwin made Arcadia into what it is today, building a racetrack and arboretum. He made sure there was a railroad stop at his ranch in Arcadia which later was crucial for local development. He also controlled the flooding of the San Gabriel River and installed modern plumbing. When Baldwin was going through a personal financial crisis, he was forced to sell much of his Southern California land, retaining only Arcadia and establishing more or less the city's present-day boundaries.

During World War II, Arcadia's Santa Anita Race Track was at one point the largest Japanese-American concentration camp in the United States. Over 100,000 American citizens were forced by the government to abandon their homes and businesses, many never recovering them, and go live in appalling conditions at the Race Track, some for more than a year before being moved to permanent "relocation" camps in the Owens Valley, Utah, and Wyoming. These Japanese-Americans, imprisoned solely because of their ethnicity, lived 3 families to a barrack (or horse-stable in some cases), took group showers and lacked private bathrooms, and lived under 24 hour armed surveillance. The Arcadia city leaders at the time were very vocal in their desire to establish the concentration camp at the Race Track.

Until a Supreme Court ruling in 19651965 was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). Events January-February January 4 United States President Lyndon Johnson proclaims his " Great Society" during his State of the Union address. January 14 Prime Ministers of N, every property sale contract within the borders of Arcadia had to include a provision that the new owner could only sell the property to a white Protestant, though many non-Protestant families did in fact own homes and live in Arcadia long before that ruling.

In the late 1990sCenturies: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s 2030s 2040s Years: Events and trends Computers, technology Explosive growth of the Internet; decrease in the cost of computers and other techn, Native American activists threatened to sue Arcadia High School over its use of the " Apache" mascot. The High Schools use of Native American symbols, including an "Apache Joe" mascot, the " Pow Wow" school newspaper, the " Smoke Signals" news bulletin boards, and the school's auxilary team's marching "Apache Princesses" were viewed by these Native American activists as offensive. The school consulted with Native American groups and made some concessions but refused to change the mascot. Some residents of Arcadia, who are former students at the school and have Native American ancestory, do not take offense to the school's use of these symbols.

2 Arcadia in popular culture

The famous Route 66, imortalized in song and literature, passes through Arcadia, where it is now named Huntington Drive. Arcadia is mentioned by Jack Kerouac in his novel On The Road. In the novel, the main protagonist, Dean, is essentially run out of town by a group of hostile teens when Dean, accompanied by a young Mexican woman, attempts to stop for food at a local drive-in restaurant. The incident is meant to demonstrate the intolerance and racism prevalent in many places during 1950s America. The drive-in restaurant in the novel is likely based on Carpenter's, a popular drive-in during this time that was located on Route 66 next to Santa Anita Racetrack. Also, it was in a motel located in Arcadia, also across the street from Santa Anita Racetrack, that author Hunter S. Thompson wrote much of his infamous novel, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas in the 1970s. Famous writer and social activist, Michael Nitzani was an all league baseball player at Arcadia High.

3 Geography

Arcadia is located at 34°7'58" North, 118°2'11" West (34.132688, -118.036491) ¹.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 28.8 km² (11.1 mi²). 28.4 km² (11.0 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 1.08% water.

4 Demographics

Arcadia has experienced a tremendous demographic shift in recent years. A community that was once almost uniformly white Protestant is now 45% Asian and is expected to have an Asian majority in the 2010 census. The majority of students in Arcadia Schools are already Asian, as the majority of the caucasian families have now passed school age and are not being replaced. The city is considered to be extremely desirable by young upper-middle class Asian immigrant families because of the excellence of its public schools, the large current Asian population and the high level of quality of life.

As of the census ² of 2000, there are 53,054 people, 19,149 households, and 14,151 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,865.6/km² (4,830.0/mi²). There are 19,970 housing units at an average density of 702.2/km² (1,818.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 45.58% White, 1.13% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 45.41% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 4.16% from other races, and 3.39% from two or more races. 10.61% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 19,149 households out of which 35.2% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.8% are married couples living together, 11.9% have a female householder with no husband present, and 26.1% are non-families. 22.3% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.6% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.74 and the average family size is 3.23.

In the city the population is spread out with 23.3% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 40 years. For every 100 females there are 88.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 84.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $56,100, and the median income for a family is $66,657. Males have a median income of $50,594 versus $36,138 for females. The per capita income for the city is $28,400. 7.9% of the population and 6.7% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 7.8% of those under the age of 18 and 6.1% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

5 External links

Arcadia official website

Cities in California Los Angeles County, California

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