Glendora is a city in the San Gabriel Valley in Los Angeles County, northeast of Downtown Los Angeles. As of the 2020 census, the population of Glendora was 52,558. World-famous Route 66 runs through the city. Like many of its neighbors, Glendora was founded during the Southern California real estate boom of the 1880s.
Known as “The Pride of the Foothills", Glendora is nestled in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. Its downtown area, locally known as the Glendora Village, hosts dozens of restaurants, cafes, shops, and boutiques along Glendora Avenue with many community events scheduled throughout the year.
Neighborhoods and residences in Glendora reflect the city's history and range from Queen Annes, to Folk Victorians, early 20th-century bungalows, to ranch style homes, to mid-rise multi-family residential complexes, to modern mansions. Glendora's most expensive neighborhoods contain many very large, secluded, estate homes with views across the San Gabriel Valley to Downtown Los Angeles and beyond.
Glendora is bordered by Azusa and the unincorporated community of Citrus to the west, San Dimas to the east and south, Covina and the unincorporated community of Charter Oak to the south, and the San Gabriel Mountains, including protected areas within the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, to the north.
History
Early inhabitants The first archaeological evidence of human settlement in Glendora dates from .. Around 3500 BCE, the Takic people moved into the area. By the time Europeans arrived in present-day Los Angeles County, the Tongva, also known as the Kizh or the Gabrieleños, were the dominant group.
In the foothills and inland areas (such as present-day Glendora), Tongva settlement patterns included both permanent village sites and seasonal camps, usually located near reliable water sources like streams or springs. The nearest villages to modern Glendora were Asuksa-nga (meaning "Skunk-place") along the San Gabriel River in present-day Azusa and Duarte, and Momwamomutn-gna (meaning "Place of many springs") in present-day San Dimas. What is now Glendora was the site of seasonal camps and hunting grounds, particularly near the intermittent streams around Dalton Canyon.
Tongva daily life was closely tied to the land's resources. They were primarily hunters and gatherers rather than farmers. The abundant oak woodlands of the San Gabriel foothills provided acorns as a dietary staple; acorns were shelled, ground on stone mortars, and leached to make a nourishing acorn mush. Along rivers and marshes, Tongva people gathered wild seeds such as chia sage, berries, and herbs. In inland communities like the Glendora area, protein came from hunting and trapping local game like deer, rabbits, and birds. Trade with neighboring tribes was well-developed; the Tongva were notable as one of the wealthiest and most influential indigenous groups in Southern California, exchanging goods like steatite (soapstone) bowls, shells, and other items in a far-reaching trade network. This network connected them with peoples as far away as the Yokuts of the Central Valley and the tribes of the Colorado River, illustrating how Tongva economic and cultural influence extended beyond their immediate homeland.
Daily life in a Tongva village was structured around communal and familial activities. Tongva dwellings (called kich or kiiğa) were dome-shaped structures made of willow branches and thatched with tule or other grasses. These homes had a central fire pit and a smoke hole at the top for ventilation. Villages typically ranged from a few dozen to a hundred people, and early Spanish observers noted that each village was politically autonomous under its own chief, yet linked to others by kinship and language. Men and women both had important economic roles: men often did most of the hunting and fishing, while women were expert foragers and skilled in processing plant foods and weaving baskets. Both sexes wore their hair long and adorned their bodies with tattoos and paint. Clothing was minimal in the warm Southern California climate—men often wore little more than a breechcloth, and women wore skirts made of deer hide or woven fiber. In cooler weather, they draped themselves in capes or cloaks made from animal skins, and sandals woven from yucca fiber or hide protected their feet. Tongva spiritual life was rich, with ceremonies marking events like the summer solstice and communal mourning rituals for the dead. They had deep knowledge of local plants for food, medicine, and materials, reflecting a relationship with the land that was both practical and spiritual.
When the Spanish first arrived in the 1770s, the Tongva population in the entire Los Angeles Basin, including the San Gabriel Valley, is estimated to have been between 5,000 and 10,000 people.
Spanish period (1769–1821) Following the arrival of a Spanish expedition led by Christopher Columbus to islands in what we now call the Caribbean in 1492, a dispute arose between Castille (Spain) and Portugal about which kingdom would own "new" lands discovered to the west of the Atlantic Ocean. This was resolved by the Inter caetera Papal bull from Pope Alexander VI, which divided all newly discovered lands outside Europe between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Crown of Castile, along a meridian 100 leagues (370 miles/600 kilometers) west of the Cape Verde islands. This gave Portugal most of Africa and Asia, and most of the Americas to Castille (Spain). Although theoretically already granted this land by the Pope, California's Spanish colonial era began in 1542 when Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, commissioned by Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza, became the first European to explore and claim the entire California coast for Spain. Thereafter, Spain took no action to solidify its claims over Alta California (the present-day U.S. states of California, Nevada, and neighboring areas) for over two centuries. By the late 1760s, concerned about Russian and French colonial ambitions, Spain began efforts to establish permanent settlements and fortifications in Alta California. In 1769, an expedition under Gaspar de Portolá, appointed "Governor of the Californias," commenced the founding of a network of missions, pueblos (civilian settlements), and presidios (military outposts). Junípero Serra, leader of the Franciscan missionaries, managed the religious conversion and daily activities at these missions. To strengthen the sparse colonial population, Spanish authorities allowed and encouraged non-Spanish settlers to establish themselves in California.
Spain's colonial system in California, including land grants (ranchos), missions, and presidios, followed a pattern of indirect governance and religious conversion inspired by the Iqta' system used by Muslim conquerors during their rule in Spain (711–1492). The area of modern Glendora fell under the jurisdiction of Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, founded in 1771, which had direct ecclesiastical and administrative oversight, including managing local affairs, overseeing agricultural production, and compelling local Tongva peoples into labor under harsh, slave-like conditions. The indigenous population had no natural immunity to Old World diseases introduced by settlers, in particular small pox, or by their livestock (which brought influenza, anthrax, leptospirosis, and bovine tuberculosis), resulting in major population declines.
The nearest colonial civilian settlement to present-day Glendora was El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles (present-day Los Angeles), founded in 1781. Beyond the relatively small contingents of soldiers at the pueblo and at the mission, military protection for the region was provided by presidios at San Diego (founded in 1769) and Santa Barbara (founded in 1782). Glendora during this period was sparsely populated except for free-roaming cattle and seasonal use by the dwindling population of Tongva who had not been forcibly brought to live near, and put in service of, the San Gabriel Mission.
By the end of the Spanish period (circa 1820–1821), the Tongva population of the Los Angeles Basin, including the San Gabriel Valley, had dramatically declined from an estimated 5,000–10,000 in pre-contact times to approximately 1,500 individuals, largely due to the introduction of Old World diseases, the disruption of traditional ways of life, and harsh conditions under missionization.
Mexican period (1821–1848)
After 11 years of struggle, Mexico gained independence from Spain on September 27, 1821. California remained a remote frontier territory with minimal oversight from the newly established Mexican government. Due to political instability and administrative difficulties, Mexico did not formally appoint a fully recognized governor for California until 1824, when Luis Antonio Argüello took office; however, his authority was initially limited by poor communication, political uncertainty across Mexico, and California's geographic isolation, leaving local communities largely responsible for their own governance. The management of land and settlement remained informal, with boundaries defined loosely by natural landmarks, and taxation often fulfilled through contributions of livestock or goods rather than uniform cash payments. This informal governance set the stage for significant challenges when California later transitioned to American rule.
The lack of oversight and clear governance proved ominous for the prosperity of the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, which presided over present-day Glendora. Controlling approximately 1.5 million acres of some of the richest land with the best water supplies in the region, it was one of the wealthiest of the California missions. Between 1829 and 1833, due to inadequate supervision, corruption among local authorities, and widespread cattle rustling, the Mission's livestock declined dramatically from roughly 13,000 head of cattle to fewer than 75. Soldiers, ranchers, and settlers took advantage of the weakening authority of the Franciscan priests, who had few means to protect Mission resources without effective military support from the Mexican troops, many of whom participated in or overlooked the theft.
In August 1833, this deteriorating situation culminated in the Decree for the Secularization of the Missions of California. Motivated by concerns that the missions, still operated by Spanish-born Franciscan clergy presumably loyal to Spain and the Catholic Church, could perpetuate Spanish influence and undermine independence, the Mexican government transferred control of Church land holdings to the territorial government in Monterey. The decree officially intended to emancipate Indigenous peoples from conditions resembling slavery and redistribute mission lands to them. However, in practice, very few Indigenous Californians received any land anywhere in the Alta California territory. The Mexican government allowed the padres to keep only the church, priests' quarters, and priests' garden. The army troops guarding the Mission were dismissed.
With the Franciscans' oversight removed, Mission San Gabriel's remaining herds of cattle rapidly disappeared, taken by local rancheros, settlers, soldiers, and even former mission administrators. The few remaining priests were powerless to stop them as they now lacked both the authority and manpower to enforce control. This chaotic transition facilitated the ambitions of influential settlers, soldiers, and rancheros with connections to the Mexican authorities in Monterey, resulting in large ranchos owned by a few powerful families.