El Monte, California


El Monte is a residential, industrial, and commercial city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city lies in the San Gabriel Valley, east of the city of Los Angeles.
El Monte's slogan is "Welcome to Friendly El Monte" and historically is known as "The End of the Santa Fe Trail". As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 113,475, down from 115,965 at the 2000 census. As of 2019, El Monte was the 54th-largest city in California.

Origin of name

El Monte is situated between the San Gabriel and Rio Hondo Rivers; residents claimed that anything could be grown in the area. Between 1770 and 1830, Spanish soldiers and missionaries often stopped here for respite. They called the area 'El Monte,' which in Spanish means 'the mountain' or 'the mount'. Most people assume the name refers to a mountain, but there were no mountains in the valley. The word is an archaic Spanish translation of that era, meaning "the wood". The first explorers had found this a rich, low-altitude land blanketed with thick growths of wispy willows, alders, and cattails, located between the two rivers. Wild grapevines and watercress also abounded. El Monte is approximately 7 miles long and 4 miles wide. When the State Legislature organized California into more manageable designated townships in the 1850s, they called it the El Monte Township. In a short time the name returned to the original El Monte.

History

The area, beside the San Gabriel River, was part of the homeland of the Tongva people for thousands of years. The Spanish Portolá expedition of missionaries and soldiers passed through the area in 1769–1770. The site was within the Spanish land grant Rancho La Puente. Mission San Gabriel Arcángel was the center of colonial activities in the area.

19th century

Using the Old Spanish Trail route at the end of 1841, a group of travelers and settlers, now referred to as the Workman-Rowland Party, arrived in the Pueblo of Los Angeles and this area in Alta California from Santa Fe de Nuevo México. The Old Spanish Trail from Santa Fe was continued east via the Santa Fe Trail trade route, established in 1821 as a trail and wagon road connecting Kansas City in Missouri Territory to Santa Fe, still within México.
From 1847, the Santa Fe Trail was also connected westward through the Southern Emigrant Trail, passing by the El Monte area, to the Pueblo of Los Angeles. Immigrant settlement began in 1849, El Monte was a stopping place for the American immigrants going to the gold fields during the California Gold Rush. The first permanent residents arrived in El Monte around 1849-1850 mostly from Texas, Arkansas and Missouri, during a time when thousands migrated to California in search of gold. The first settlers with families were Nicholas Schmidt, Ira W. Thompson, G. and F. Cuddeback, J. Corbin, and J. Sheldon.
These migrants ventured upon the bounty of fruitful, rich land along the San Gabriel River and began to build homesteads there. The farmers were very pleased at the increasing success of El Monte's agricultural community, and it steadily grew over the years.
In the 1850s the settlement was briefly named Lexington by American settlers, but soon returned to being called El Monte or Monte. It was at the crossroad of routes between Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and the natural harbor at San Pedro. In the early days, it had a reputation as a rough town where men often settled disputes with knives and guns in its gambling saloons. Defense against Indian raids and the crimes of bandit gangs, such as that of Joaquin Murrieta, led to the formation of a local militia company called the Monte Rangers in February 1854. After the Monte Rangers disbanded, justice for Los Angeles County, in the form of volunteer s, as in the 1857 hunt for the bandit gang of Juan Flores and Pancho Daniel, or a lynching, was often provided by the local vigilantes called the "El Monte Boys".
In 1858 the adobe Monte Station was established, a stagecoach stop on the Butterfield Overland Mail Section 2 route.
By 1861 El Monte had become a sizeable settlement, and during the American Civil War was considered a Confederate stronghold sympathetic to the secession of Southern California from California to support the Confederate States of America. A. J. King an Undersheriff of Los Angeles County with other influential men in El Monte, formed a secessionist militia company, like the Los Angeles Mounted Rifles, called the Monte Mounted Rifles on March 23, 1861. However the attempt failed when following the battle of Fort Sumter, A. J. King marched through the streets with a portrait of the Confederate General P. G. T. Beauregard and was arrested by a U.S. Marshal. State arms sent from Governor John G. Downey for the unit were held up by Union officers at the port of San Pedro. Union troops established New Camp Carleton near the town in March 1862 to suppress any rebellion, it was shut down three years later at the end of the war.
El Monte was listed as a township in the 1860 and 1870 Censuses, with a population of 1,004 in 1860 and 1,254 in 1870. The 1860 township comprised several of the old ranchos in the El Monte area, including Rancho Potrero Grande, Rancho La Puente and Rancho La Merced. . The 1870 census added in the former Azusa township.
Southern Pacific built a railroad depot in town in 1873, stimulating the growth of local agriculture.

20th century

El Monte was incorporated as a municipality in 1912. During the 1930s, the city became a vital site for the New Deal's federal Subsistence Homestead project, a Resettlement Administration program that helped grant single-family ranch houses to qualifying applicants. It became home to many 1930s white immigrants from the Dust Bowl Migration. Famous photographer Dorothea Lange took many pictures of the houses for her work for the Farm Security Administration. The area also experienced social and labor conflict during this period, as the El Monte Berry Strike of 1933 shed light upon institutional racism experienced by Japanese tenant farmers and Latino farm laborers.
The city has evolved into a majority Hispanic community. Representing the historical significance of the Santa Fe Trail, El Monte built the Santa Fe Trail Historical Park in 1989, at Valley Blvd and Santa Anita Ave. The trail remained America's greatest route for several decades thereafter. The El Monte Historical Museum at 3150 Tyler Avenue is considered to be one of the best community museums in the state of California.

21st century

By 2008 there had been an influx of Asians into El Monte. Bang Tran, a resident of Monrovia and a former El Monte resident quoted in the Los Angeles Times, stated that year that there was overpopulation in Alhambra, Monterey Park, and other nearby heavily Asian municipalities; this is why Asians began moving to El Monte.

Entertainment history

El Monte is credited with being the birthplace of TV variety shows. Hometown Jamboree, a KTLA-TV Los Angeles-based show, was actually produced at the American Legion Stadium in El Monte, California in the 1950s. The Saturday night stage show was hosted and produced by Cliffie Stone, who helped popularize country music in California.
In the 1950s, as the unstable racial climate and the hostility toward rock & roll started to merge; rock & roll shows were forced from the City of Los Angeles by police pressure. The El Monte Legion Stadium, outside the city limits, became the site of a series for rock and roll concerts by Johnny Otis and other performers. During the fifties, teenagers from all over Southern California flocked to El Monte Legion Stadium every Friday and Saturday night to see their favorite performers. Famous singers who performed there include: Ritchie Valens, Rosie & the Originals, Brenton Wood, Earth, Wind & Fire, The Grateful Dead, Dick Dale and his Del-Tones and Johnny "Guitar" Watson. Disc jockeys Art Laboe and Huggy Boy enhanced the stadium's popularity with their highly publicized Friday Night Dances with many popular record artists of the late 1950s and 1960s. "El Monte Legion Stadium", as it was often called, was the "Happening" place to be for the teenagers of that era. In a closed-circuit telecast, The Beatles and the Beach Boys were seen there on March 14, 1964.
El Monte is known for the long-time rock & roll hit "Memories of El Monte", written by Frank Zappa and originally recorded by The Penguins, one of the local Doo-wop groups from the 1950s that became famous nationwide. The song is in remembrance of The El Monte Legion Stadium and can be heard on many albums including Art Laboe's Memories of El Monte. Although the stadium closed their doors nearly 50 years ago, the music continues to live on.
El Monte was the birthplace of singer–guitarist Mary Ford, of Les Paul and Mary Ford fame. John Larkin, known as, is also a native. El Monte was home to musicians Gregg Myers and Joe McDonald, who performed in the 1960s with Country Joe and the Fish. Cheech Marin of Cheech & Chong fame was an El Monte denizen.
A popular attraction from 1925 to 1942 was Gay's Lion Farm. Two European retired circus stars, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Gay, operated this tourist attraction, which has been called "the Disneyland of the 1920s and 1930s" by historian Jack Barton, and many others of that era. The Gays raised wild animals for use in the motion picture industry and housed over 200 African lions. Many of the lions starred in films during the 1920s and 1930s, including the Tarzan films starring Elmo Lincoln and Johnny Weissmuller. The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer lion logo was made with two lions from the farm, "Slats", and his lookalike successor "Jackie". In 1925, El Monte Union High School adopted "The Lions" name for its teams, and the Gays provided a lion mascot for big games. The famous live lion farm was closed temporarily due to wartime meat shortages. It never reopened, but a life-sized memorial statue can be seen next to I-10 on the SE corner of Valley Boulevard and Peck Road. The original lion statue, commissioned for the Farm, stands in front of nearby El Monte High School.
Horse racing's most famous jockey, Willie Shoemaker, was a resident and attended El Monte High School, until he dropped out to work in the nearby stables.
El Monte was also briefly the home to author James Ellroy until his mother Geneva was murdered there in 1958.
Former baseball player Fred Lynn was a resident of El Monte. Actor-filmmaker Timothy Carey filmed much of his underground feature The World's Greatest Sinner in El Monte. Modern authors Salvador Plascencia, 33, and Michael Jaime-Becerra, 36, both grew up in El Monte and each references El Monte in his novels. Mr. Ed, the Palomino of the classic 60s television show, was foaled in 1949 in El Monte and named "Bamboo Harvester".

Geography

El Monte is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which, of it is land and of it is water.

Climate

El Monte has a Mediterranean climate.

Demographics

The population has increased by more than 40% since the 1970s, with homes replacing the walnut groves for which the city was known.

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that El Monte had a population of 113,475. The population density was 11,761.6 people per square mile. The racial makeup of El Monte was 44,058 White, 870 African American, 1,083 Native American, 28,503 Asian, 131 Pacific Islander, 35,205 from other races, and 3,625 from two or more races. 78,317 of the population is Hispanic or Latino of any race.
The Census reported that 112,395 people lived in households, 317 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 763 were institutionalized.
There were 27,814 households, out of which 14,557 had children under the age of 18 living in them, 15,087 were opposite-sex married couples living together, 5,298 had a female householder with no husband present, 2,962 had a male householder with no wife present. There were 2,061 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 161 same-sex married couples or partnerships. 3,130 households were made up of individuals, and 1,539 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.04. There were 23,347 families ; the average family size was 4.23.
The population was spread out, with 32,234 people under the age of 18, 12,814 people aged 18 to 24, 33,263 people aged 25 to 44, 24,567 people aged 45 to 64, and 10,597 people who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.4 males.
There were 29,069 housing units at an average density of 3,013.0 per square mile, of which 11,740 were owner-occupied, and 16,074 were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.6%. 46,802 people lived in owner-occupied housing units and 65,593 people lived in rental housing units.
According to the 2010 United States Census, El Monte had a median household income of $39,535, with 24.3% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 115,965 people, 27,034 households, and 23,005 families residing in the city. The population density was 12,139.5 people per square mile. There were 27,758 housing units at an average density of 2,905.8 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 72.39% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race, 35.67% White, 4.9% White Persons not Hispanic, 0.77% Black or African American, 1.38% Native American, 18.51% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 39.27% from other races, and 4.29% from two or more races.
There were 27,034 households, out of which 53.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.0% were married couples living together, 18.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 14.9% were non-families. 10.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.24 and the average family size was 4.43.
In the city, the population were 34.1% under the age of 18, 12.1% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 15.4% from 45 to 64, and 6.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,439, and the median income for a family was $32,402. Males had a median income of $21,789 versus $19,818 for females. The per capita income for the city was $10,316. About 22.5% of families and 26.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.9% of those under age 18 and 13.3% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Municipal government

The El Monte City Council has five members elected at large—an elected Mayor and four council members. The Mayor and City Council are elected by the voters of El Monte and are responsible for overseeing the delivery of local government services to the residents of the city.
OfficeOffice HolderTerm Ends
MayorAndre QuinteroDecember 2022
CouncilmemberJerry VelascoDecember 2020
Mayor Pro TemMaria MoralesDecember 2022
CouncilmemberVictoria MartinezDecember 2020
CouncilmemberJessica AnconaDecember 2022

The City Manager is Alma Martinez.

State and federal representation

In the California State Senate, El Monte is in. In the California State Assembly, it is split between, and.
In the United States House of Representatives, El Monte is in.

Public safety

The City of El Monte has its own police department and contracts with the Los Angeles County Fire Department for fire services and emergency medical response.
The El Monte Police Department consists of 117 sworn police officers who provide emergency services to the citizens of El Monte. The Chief of Police is David Reynoso.
The City of El Monte Neighborhood Services Division provides enforcement of health and safety, municipal codes, zoning and building codes. Five Neighborhood Services Officers respond to complaints and pro-actively address violations. The Animal Control Division is also part of the Neighborhood Services Division. Animal Control Officers respond to all calls related to animals. Animal Control consists of 2 Full-time and 1 Part-Time Officer. The Neighborhood Services Manager is Matthew Ramos.

Economy

According to the City's 2018 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:
#Employer# of Employees
1El Monte City Elementary School District1,500
2El Monte Union High School District1,400
3Mountain View Elementary School District1,000
4Longo Toyota-Lexus831
5City of El Monte505
6McGill Corporation475
7Staffing Solutions266
8Asian Pacific Health Care Veture260
9The Home Depot251
10Sam's Club203

Cathay Bank has a corporate center in El Monte.
https://www.ci.el-monte.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/3679/City-of-El-Monte-CAFR-2019-FINAL-PDF

Education

The El Monte Union High School District consists of the following schools:
The El Monte City School District contains 17 elementary schools: one serving grades K-4, one serving grades K-5, ten serving grades K-6, and six serving grades K-8. The district also administers four Head Start sites, which are located at the elementary schools.
The Mountain View School District is a K-8 school district comprising ten elementary schools, one intermediate school, one middle school, an alternative education program for students in grades 5–8, and a Children's Center and Head Start/ State Preschool program. The district has an enrollment of 8,600 students.
El Monte is served by Metro, Foothill Transit, and the city-operated El Monte Transit. Metro's Silver Line ends at El Monte Station. Train service to El Monte is provided by Metrolink's San Bernardino Line, which stops at the El Monte station.
Interstate 10 traverses El Monte. San Gabriel Valley Airport, a general aviation airport, is located in El Monte.

Health services

The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the Monrovia Health Center in Monrovia, serving El Monte. The El Monte Comprehensive Health and Mammography Center is located on Ramona Blvd. in El Monte. It offers medical and dental services for low-income individuals, but is not an emergency center.

Media

El Monte community news are provided by the San Gabriel Valley Tribune published daily, Mid-Valley News and El Monte Examiner are published weekly.

Notable residents