The following is a general historical timeline of the city of Los Angeles (LA), California, and the incorporated cities or unincorporated areas closest to LA's city limits which are part of the "Greater LA" metropolitan area—such as Santa Monica city and the unincorporated community of East Los Angeles. More distant areas of LA County, such as Santa Clarita city, are not included, as are the urban areas of "Greater LA" which fall within Riverside County and Orange County jurisdictions.
Pre-Columbian era
8,000 BCE – Chumash and Tongva Tribes inhabited the Los Angeles Basin for thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans in the area. Angeles Mesa skeletons Remains of Indigenous people discovered in Ballona Plain, 1924 La Brea Woman 10,250 year old BP Remains of Indigenous woman discovered in La Brea Tar Pits,1914 2,000 BCE to 700 CE, the Uto-Aztecan (formerly known as Shoshonean) peoples entered the LA basin, absorbing or displacing the previous Hokan-speaking peoples
16th century English exploration 1542 October 8: Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo sails from Catalina Island to San Pedro Bay and names it Bay of Smoke. October 9: Cabrillo anchors in Santa Monica Bay then departs north. November 23: Cabrillo on his return trip, anchors and lands in Catalina Island to overwinter and make repairs. The Party of Explorers departed a short time later.
17th century 1602 November 20: Sebastián Vizcaíno anchors and lands in Catalina Island for a short time during his voyage northward.
18th century Spanish colonization 1769 Late July: José Francisco Ortega scout leader for the Portolá expedition is the first non-indigenous person to explore the LA Basin via a land trail. 1771 September 8: Original San Gabriel Mission is Built near Whittier Narrows. 1776 – Original San Gabriel Mission is destroyed in a flash flood forcing the Priest to move the location 5 miles north, building the new Mission San Gabriel Arcángel. 1781 September 4: El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora de Los Angeles de Porciuncula founded in colonial New Spain by 44 settlers, 20 of whom were of African American or Native American descent. 1790's – Vicente Sanchez Adobe is built in the Eastern Foothills of Baldwin Hills. 1795 – Construction commences on the Casa de Rancho San Antonio completed in 1810.
19th century 1800 to 1825 1818 – Avila Adobe built. 1820 – Los Angeles Pueblo Population: 650 1821 – Rancho Rincón de los Bueyes granted
MEXICAN PERIOD 1821 September 28: In Mexico City, the Mexican Empire declares independence; news would reach California months later. 1822 Joseph John Chapman, an Anglo-American who became one of the earliest English-speaking settlers and builders of Mexican Alta California, helps to build the roof of La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles.Bancroft, H. H. History of California, 1801–1824 (1886) Free ebook April 9: A junta in Monterey headed by governor De Solá swear an oath allegiance of the Alta California Province to the Mexican Empire; in the following days, public oaths were taken in the pueblos and missions of Alta California. May: José Palomares goes to Monterey as the elector selected to represent the pueblo de Los Ángeles in the election of a deputy from the province to the Congress. 1823 Rancho Las Ciénegas granted
1825 to 1850 1826 November 27: Jedediah Smith, an Anglo-American Explorer, arrives at Mission San Gabriel Arcángel from the Great Salt Lake area, making him the first American to reach Alta California via a land route. Dominguez Rancho Adobe 1827 – Jonathan Temple and John Rice opened the first general store in the pueblo, later followed by J. D. Leandry. 1828 - Rancho La Brea grant 1830 – Los Angeles Pueblo Population: 730. 1831 Jean-Louis Vignes bought of land located between the original Pueblo and the banks of the Los Angeles River. He planted a vineyard and prepared to make wine. Rancho Rosa Castilla grant 1833 – Los Angeles Trade and commerce further increased with the secularization of the California missions by the Mexican Congress. Extensive mission lands suddenly became available to government officials, ranchers, and land speculators. The governor made more than 800 land grants during this period to wealthy Californios. 1834 Governor Pico married Maria Ignacio Alvarado in the Plaza church. It was attended by the entire population of the pueblo, 800 people, plus hundreds from elsewhere in Alta California. Rancho San Pascual grant Centinela Adobe Rómulo Pico Adobe 1835 May 23: On the advice of the territory's deputy, José Carrillo, Los Angeles, is given the title of Ciudad and was declared the capital of the Alta California Territory by the Mexican Congress. The de facto capital remained in Monterey until decades later and the decision furthered political tensions in the territory. 1836 – The Indian village of Yaanga was relocated near the future corner of Commercial and Alameda Streets. 1839 – Rancho San Vicente y Santa Monica grant Hugo Reid Adobe 1841 – Los Angeles City Population: 1,680 1840s – Lugo Adobe 1844 – Leonis Adobe 1845 – The Indian village of Yaanga was relocated again to present-day Boyle Heights. AMERICAN INVASION 1846 August 6: US Navy Commodore Robert F. Stockton lands Military Force in San Pedro and sets up camp near Casa de San Pedro. August 13: Stockton and Frémont rendezvous South of Los Angeles to commence the Capture of the City. September 23–30: Siege of Los Angeles, a Civil rebellion against American occupation led By Jose Maria Flores recaptures Los Angeles from U.S. forces, U.S. Officer Gillespie is forced to retreat to San Pedro Camp. October 6: U.S. troops under William Mervine land in San Pedro to attempt to recapture Los Angeles. October 8–9: Battle of Dominguez Rancho, US Marines engage in a battle with the Mexican Californios, the Mexicans defeated the United States Military forces. causing them to retreat once again. 1847 January 8–9: Battle of Río San Gabriel, Mexican's block path into Los Angeles at Pico Rivera. American Troops are Victorious and the Mexicans Retreat. January 10: Battle of La Mesa, Los Angeles taken by U.S. forces. January 13: Treaty of Cahuenga, Signed by Andrés Pico & John C. Frémont ends American military action and completes the American Conquest of California.
AMERICAN PERIOD 1848 February 2: Los Angeles becomes part of U.S. territory per Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. 1849 – Lieutenant Edward Ord surveyed Los Angeles to confirm and extend the streets of the city. His survey put the city into the real-estate business, creating its first real-estate boom and filling its treasury. Street names were changed from Spanish to English.
1850s 1850 April 4: Los Angeles incorporated. September 9: Los Angeles becomes part of the new U.S. state of California. Population: 1,610 city; 3,530 county. Los Angeles County established. 1850s – Vicente de la Osa fences off Encino Hot Springs 1850s – Ygnacio Palomares Adobe 1851 – Los Angeles Star, city's first newspaper, begins publication. Hugo Reid, who was married to an indigenous woman Victoria Reid published his series The Indians of Los Angeles County in the newspaper as part of his campaign to be named Indian agent. 1854 – Round House constructed. 1855 – First City public school building built. 1858 – U.S. government begins issuing patents confirming Spanish and Mexican-era rancho land grants within Los Angeles County 1859 – Los Angeles County votes to secede from California to form the Territory of Colorado, voting 1,407–441 in favor of secession. Congress throws out secession proposal the following year amid the Civil War.
1860s 1860 – Los Angeles Soap Company in business, founded by John A. Forthmann. 1861 – U.S. Army establishes Camp Latham along Ballona Creek 1863 – U.S. Army opens Drum Barracks at Wilmington 1865 – Loyola High School (Los Angeles) opens. 1866 – Dedication of Town Square, now known as Pershing Square 1868 First street lighting installed. Creation of Echo Park reservoir 1869 Los Angeles Police Department is formed. October 26: Los Angeles & San Pedro Railroad begins operating. William Rosecrans buys Rosecrans Tract in vicinity of present-day Gardena
1870s 1871 October 24: Anti-Chinese unrest. Evening Express newspaper begins publication. San Pedro Harbor development begins. 1872 First African Methodist Episcopal Church established. Exposition Park established 1873 – Los Angeles Daily Herald newspaper begins publication. 1874 May: Tiburcio Vásquez California's first Notorious Celebrity was caught and apprehended after a shootout in Today's West Hollywood 1875 – Los Angeles and Independence Railroad begins operating to Santa Monica. 1876 September 6 – Southern Pacific Railroad (San Francisco-Los Angeles line) begins operating Los Angeles' first link to transcontinental railroad. Cathedral of Saint Vibiana built. Pico Canyon Oilfield drilled in LA Outskirts, making it the first commercially successful oil well in the Western United States ("Mentryville was established in 1876 after workers drilled what became the first commercially successful oil well in the West.") ("The well, known as Pico No. 4, was the first commercially successful oil well in the western U.S.") ("Scofield formed California Star Oil Works, and with skilled oil man Alex Mentry, tapped the first commercial oil well in California – Pico No. 4.") ("Oil men had been groping around the canyons of the area since 1876, when the first commercially successful oil well west of Pennsylvania was built several miles south of Lechler's ranch in Pico Canyon.") and is considered the birthplace of California's oil industry. Governor Stoneman Adobe, Los Robles 1877 First oranges shipped to eastern markets.
1880s 1880s: Westlake Park, now MacArthur Park, laid out around natural springs 1880 University of Southern California opens. Population: 11,183 city; 33,381 county. 1881 Los Angeles Daily Times begins publication. Donation of land for Lincoln Park Hamburger's Department Store opens 1882 Los Angeles State Normal School opens. Lopez Adobe 1883 – City Railroad Company established. 1884 – Child's Grand Opera House opens. 1886 Kansas City-Los Angeles railway begins operating. City Fire Department and Elysian Park established. Pasadena and Santa Monica incorporated in Los Angeles County. Many people arrive as a result of railroad rate war; speculative real estate boom begins.
1887 Peak of 1880s Southern California real estate boom; many towns laid out. Los Angeles Athletic Club incorporated. April 20 – Occidental College founded. Pomona incorporated in Los Angeles County. California Central Railway connects Redondo Junction and Port Ballona 1888 Land boom collapses. Southern Pacific's Arcade Depot opens. Chamber of Commerce founded. California Club incorporated. Long Beach incorporated in Los Angeles County. 1889 City Parks Department and Los Angeles Oil Exchange founded. Orange County established.
1890s 1890 – Population: 50,400 city; 101,454 county. 1892 Redondo Beach incorporated in Los Angeles County. February – Oil discovered within Los Angeles City limits. Federal courthouse opens downtown 1893 Bradbury Building constructed. July 4 – Mount Lowe Railway opens north of Pasadena. July 29 – La Grande Station opens. 1894 Fiesta de Los Angeles begins. Long Wharf opens at Santa Monica 1895 Highland Park becomes part of the City of Los Angeles. Los Angeles Consolidated Electric Railway taken over by bondholders and renamed the Los Angeles Railway Los Angeles Evening Record begins publication 1896 May – Congress approves $2,900,000 for deep-water harbor at San Pedro. 1897 – Los Angeles Country Club founded. 1898 September 1: Henry E. Huntington and Isaias W. Hellman syndicate purchase Los Angeles Railway and begin expanding it