City in California, United States
Rosemead is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of 2009, it has a population of approximately 57,594.[6]
History
Prior to the arrival of the Spanish, the area around Rosemead was populated by native Americans of the Tongva or Gabrielino ethnic group. In 1771, the Spanish founded the first San Gabriel mission in the area that is now known as Whittier Narrows on the border between Montebello and Rosemead. Due to flooding issues, the mission was moved to its present location in San Gabriel in 1775.
During the Spanish colonial period the area now covered by the City of Rosemead was part of the land administered by the San Gabriel Mission. After Mexican independence, the land was distributed to private citizens as part of the Mexican government's secularization act of 1834. The southern part of Rosemead was part of a ranch named Potrero Grande (Large Pasture) which was originally granted to an native American man named Manuel Antonio, who was a "mayordomo" (overseer) at the San Gabriel Mission. The 4,431-acre (18 km2) ranch was later transferred to Juan Matias Sánchez.
Following the Mexican-American War and the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe which transferred sovereignty over the territory now known as the State of California to the United States, Anglo-American immigration began to flow to the area. In 1852, John Guess and his wife Harriet moved into the San Gabriel Valley from Conway County, Arkansas.
In 1855 the couple camped where present-day Savannah Elemetary School is located on Rio Hondo Avenue. They rented land afterwards as the years passed. In 1867, John Guess purchased 100 acres (0.4 km2) of a 1,164-acre (5 km2) ranch and named it Savanna. The land stretched from Valley Boulevard to Marshall Street, and from Rosemead Boulevard to the Eaton Wash.
Other pioneers, Frank Forst and Leonard J. Rose, also settled in this valley. Rose and his wife Amanda bought about 600 acres (2.4 km2) of land between what is now Rosemead Boulevard and Walnut Grove Avenue. Rose bred and trained horses for a living. He later named his ranch "Rosemeade." The name Rosemeade was later shortened to Rosemead and adopted by the community, and the area flourished with various rabbit and chicken farms.
On August 4, 1959, the citizens of Rosemead elected to incorporate Rosemead into a city.
Emergency services
Fire protection in Rosemead is provided by the Los Angeles County Fire Department with ambulance transport by Guardian Ambulance Service. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department provides law enforcement, operating out of the Temple City Station.
Economy
Edison International, the international family of companies providing electric services, is headquartered in the city.[7] Southern California Edison and serves Rosemead, as well as much of Southern California.[8] The University of the West (formerly known as Hsi Lai University) moved to its current location in Rosemead in 1996. It is one of the very first Buddhist funded university in the United States. Rosemead School of Psychology was named after its original location in Rosemead. This school was the first independent professional school of psychology in the nation to be accredited by regional accrediting association. Rosemead School of Psychology is now located in La Mirada, but still keeps the city name.[9] The Chinese cuisine fast food chain Panda Restaurant Group is headquartered in Rosemead.[10] The Chinese-Vietnamese Sriracha red chili sauce (known to many as Rooster sauce) manufacturer Huy Fong Foods, Inc. (匯豐食品公司) is also based in the city.[11]
Controversies over the development of a Wal-Mart Supercenter, in a residential section in the southern portion of the city, have been bitterly longstanding. It opened on September 13, 2006. A recall election to remove two council members that supported the Wal-Mart, Jay Imperial and Gary Taylor, was set for September 19, 2006. The voters defeated the recall in a 60 to 40 percent majority vote. However, in the general elections that followed shortly thereafter on March 6, 2007, Polly Low defeated incumbent and former recall target Jay Imperial, garnering the highest vote count among the five candidates vying for the two open seats on the council. Margaret Clark, Steven Ly, and Sandra Armenta, swept their elections on March 3, 2009. Twenty-four year old Stephen Ly is mayor pro tem and Gary Taylor is serving his (non-consecutive) fourth term as Mayor of Rosemead,[12] succeeding Margaret Clark.
Geography
Rosemead is located at 34°4′14″N 118°4′56″W / 34.07056°N 118.08222°W / 34.07056; -118.08222Invalid arguments have been passed to the ((#coordinates:)) function (34.070428, -118.082312).Template:GR
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.3 km² (5.2 mi²). 13.3 km² (5.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.19% is water.
The city is bordered to the north by San Gabriel and Temple City, to the east by El Monte, to the south by the unincorporated area of South San Gabriel and Montebello and to the west by Monterey Park.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 53,505 people, 13,913 households, and 11,632 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,011.3/km² (10,398.3/mi²). There were 14,345 housing units at an average density of 1,075.5/km² (2,787.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 26.57% White, 0.68% African American, 0.85% Native American, 48.76% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 19.69% from other races, and 3.38% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 41.30% of the population.
There were 14,110 households out of which 40.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.7% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.1% were non-families. 16.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.70 and the average family size was 4.19.
In the city the population was spread out with 6.5% under the age of 5, 76.9% over the age of 18, and 15.2% over the age of 65. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 102.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $44,115, and the median income for a family was $46,327. Males working full time had a median income of $31,599 versus $28,456 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,072. About 11.6% of families and 12.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.6% of those under age 18 and 8.3% of those age 65 or over.
Commercial "mom and pop" businesses are along Garvey Avenue and Valley Boulevard although they are increasingly being cleared to make way for future high density mixed-use developments. The local homeless population tend to live along the Alhambra wash, and near the San Bernardino Freeway.
Government and infrastructure
In the State Legislature Rosemead is located in the 24th Senate District, represented by Democrat Gloria Romero, and in the 49th Assembly District, represented by Democrat Mike Eng. Federally, Rosemead is located in California's 32nd Congressional District, which has a Partisan Voting Index of: Cook PVI D +17[13]. When Representative Hilda Solis was confirmed as The United States Labor Secretary, her position became vacant. Her successor, Judy Chu was determined in a runoff election on July 14, 2009. Judy Chu was sworn in on July 16, 2009.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) operates the Temple Station in Temple City, serving Rosemead.[14]
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the Monrovia Health Center in Monrovia, serving Rosemead.[15]
Education
The city of Rosemead is served by two elementary school districts: Garvey School District and Rosemead School District. Each of these districts overlaps with a high school district; the former overlaps with the Alhambra Unified School District and the latter overlaps with a portion of the El Monte Union High School District.
There is one public high school--Rosemead High School)--in the city and three public middle schools: Muscatel Middle School, Richard Garvey Intermediate School and Temple Intermediate School. Don Bosco Technical Institute is located in Rosemead.
University of the West has also been located in Rosemead since 1996. The Buddhist-founded campus is located at 1409 N. Walnut Grove Ave. UWest is Rosemead's only WASC accredited campus.
Places of interest
The Dinsmoor Heritage House is a bijou museum that houses, preserves and displays a showcase of the colorful and rich history of the City of Rosemead. Once a private home, it was built in the late 1920's by Adelberrt Dinsmoor, son of one of Rosemead's pioneers, Raphael Dinsmoor. Currently closed to undergoing refurbishing, it will again conduct monthly tours and host a variety of special events when completed. It is located at 9642 Steele Street.[16]
Savannah Pioneer Cemetery is located near the intersection of Mission and Valley Blvds.[17] It is reputed to be the oldest Protestant cemetery in Los Angeles County.[18] The city's annual Oktoberfest was originated to help raise money to preserve the cemetery.
The Marinelli Stadium, named in memory of Rod Marinelli, formerly the head coach of the Detroit Lions, is located at Rosemead High School. "Rod Marinelli Stadium" appears in lights above the scoreboard and an encrypted bronze marker is placed at the southern edge of the field on a large stone.[19]
There are two Community Centers in Rosemead that offer multi-purpose facilities for a large variety of occasions as well as senior activities, adult education programs, youth and adult classes, as well as two preschools. [20]
