Even by Southern California standards, the municipality of South El Monte, like many cites in L.A. County, are not that old compared to the United States as a whole and of course to the rest of the world.
The first people to settle in the region were the Tongva, Native Americans who inhabited the L.A. basin thousands of years ago. The Tongva valued the South El Monte area because of water that was to be found here.
In the 1500’s, Spanish explorers and missionaries arrived and settled in the area. In both the Spanish and Mexican eras, land was given in the form of ranchos, or land grants. Many of the areas we know in the Southern California derive their names from such ranchos. The city of South El Monte sits in the original boundaries of the Mexican land grant of Rancho La Puente, shown in the public domain image above from the Huntington Library.
During the California Gold Rush, the Thompson family settled in South El Monte, establishing a township. But the city was not officially incorporated until recently.
In 1958, a dedicated group of citizens finally established South El Monte as a fully incorporated municipality. Mayor Gloria Olmos was proud to celebrate the 66th year of cityhood for South El Monte, which has developed into a thriving city – indeed, a gem in the center of Los Angeles County.
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