Anaheim was founded by fiftyGerman families in 1857 andincorporated as the second city inLos Angeles County on March 18, 1876;[1] Orange County was split off from Los Angeles County in 1889. Anaheim remained largely an agricultural community until Disneyland opened on July 17, 1955. This led to the construction of several hotels and motels around the area, and residential districts in Anaheim soon followed. The city also developed into an industrial center, producing electronics, aircraft parts and canned fruit. Anaheim is acharter city.[7]
Tongva people are indigenous to Anaheim's region of Southern California. Evidence suggests their presencesince 3500 BCE. The Tongva village at Anaheim was calledHutuukuga.[9] The village has been noted as one of the largest Tongva villages throughoutTovaangar.[10][11]Native plants likeoak trees andsage bushes were an important food source, as well as rabbit andmule deer for meat. The village had deep trade connections with coastal villages and those further inland.[10]
The city of Anaheim was founded in 1857 by 50 German-Americans who were residents of San Francisco[12] and whose families had originated inRothenburg ob der Tauber,Franconia inBavaria.[13][14] After traveling through the state looking for a suitable area to grow grapes, the group decided to purchase a 1,165 acres (4.71 km2) parcel from Juan Pacífico Ontiveros' large Rancho San Juan Cajón de Santa Ana in present-dayOrange County for $2 per acre.[12] It's recorded as the oldest American founded city in Orange County.[12]
For $750 a share, the group formed theAnaheim Vineyard Company headed byGeorge Hansen.[12] Their new community was namedAnnaheim, meaning "home by the Santa Ana River" in German.[12] The name later was altered to Anaheim. To the Spanish-speaking neighbors, the settlement was known asCampo Alemán (English:German Field).
Although grape and wine-making was their primary objective, the majority of the 50 settlers were mechanics, carpenters and craftsmen with no experience in wine-making.[12] The community set aside 40 acres (16 ha) for a town center and a school was the first building erected there.[12] The first home was built in 1857, theAnaheim Gazette newspaper was established in 1870 and a hotel in 1871. The census of 1870 reported a population of 565 for the Anaheim district.[15] For 25 years, the area was the largest wine producer in California.[12] However, in 1884, a disease infected the grape vines and by the following year the entire industry was destroyed. Other crops – walnuts, lemons and oranges – soon filled the void. Fruits and vegetables had become viable cash crops when the Los Angeles – Orange County region was connected to the continental railroad network in 1887.[16]
Polish actressHelena Modjeska settled in Anaheim with her husband and various friends, among themHenryk Sienkiewicz, Julian Sypniewski and Łucjan Paprocki. While living in Anaheim, Helena Modjeska became good friends with Clementine Langenberger, the second wife of August Langenberger.[17] Helena Street[18] and Clementine Street[18] are named after these two ladies, and the streets are located adjacent to each other as a symbol of the strong friendship which Helena Modjeska and Clementine Lagenberger shared. Modjeska Park[19] in West Anaheim, is also named after Helena Modjeska.
During the first half of the 20th century, Anaheim was a massive rural community dominated by orangegroves and thelandowners who farmed them. One of the landowners was Bennett Payne Baxter, who owned much land in northeast Anaheim that today is the location of Angel Stadium.[20] He came up with many new ideas for irrigating orange groves and shared his ideas with other landowners. He was not only successful, he helped other landowners and businesspeople succeed as well. Ben Baxter and other landowners helped to make Anaheim a thriving rural community before the opening ofDisneyland transformed the city. A street along Edison Park[20] is named Baxter Street. Also during this time,Rudolph Boysen served as Anaheim's first Park Superintendent from 1921 to 1950. Boysen created a hybrid berry whichWalter Knott later named theboysenberry, after Rudy Boysen. Boysen Park[21] in East Anaheim was also named after him.
Anaheim in 1922
In 1924,Ku Klux Klan members were elected to the Anaheim City Council on a platform of political reform. Up until that point, the city had been controlled by a long-standing business and civic elite that was mostlyGerman American. Given their tradition of moderate social drinking, the German Americans did not strongly supportprohibition laws of the day. The mayor himself was a former saloon keeper. Led by the minister of the First Christian Church, the Klan represented a rising group of politically oriented non-ethnic Germans who denounced the elite as corrupt, undemocratic, and self-serving. The Klansmen aimed to create what they saw as a model, orderly community, one in which prohibition against alcohol would be strictly enforced. At the time, the KKK had about 1,200 members in Orange County. The economic and occupational profile of the pro and anti-Klan groups shows the two were similar and about equally prosperous. Klan members were Protestants, as were the majority of their opponents; however, the opposition to the Klan also included manyCatholic Germans. Individuals who joined the Klan had earlier demonstrated a much higher rate of voting and civic activism than did their opponents, and many of the individuals in Orange County who joined the Klan did so out of a sense of civic activism. Upon easily winning the local Anaheim election in April 1924, the Klan representatives promptly fired city employees who were known to be Catholic and replaced them with Klan appointees. The new city council tried to enforce prohibition. After its victory, the Klan chapter held large rallies and initiation ceremonies over the summer.[22]
The opposition to the KKK's hold on Anaheim politics organized, bribed a Klansman for their secret membership list, and exposed the Klansmen running in the state primaries, defeating most of the candidates. In 1925, Klan opponents took back local government, and succeeded in a special election in recalling the Klansmen who had been elected in April 1924. The Klan in Anaheim quickly collapsed; its newspaper closed after losing a libel suit, and the minister who led the local Klavern moved to Kansas.[22]
Facilitation of new industries and suburban residents was possible due to the expansion of highways out of Los Angeles. Population dispersal efforts were made by the California's Division of Highways in order to subvert an easily targeted population cluster for atomic threats in the aftermath of World War II.[23]
The Fricker Fertilizer Factory fire on June 21, 1985[24] has been considered to be one of the worst environmental disasters in Orange County.[25] A pesticide warehouse under the Larry Fricker Company was set ablaze, burning for four days due to the hazardous, highly toxic chemicals, such asmethyl bromide gas andorganophosphates, that were stored inside. The fire released more than 80 different chemicals into the air, which were carried by winds to surrounding neighborhoods.
The first round of evacuations took place 14 hours after the fire was reported and witnesses claimed that the air appeared "thick" and exposed skin began to intensely itch.[25] Working-class neighborhoods within a 2-mile radius in the cities of Fullerton, Anaheim, and Placentia were evacuated, resulting in a conservative estimate more than 7,500 evacuees[26] and the closure of the 57 freeway for two days.
Cleanup operations are recorded to have removed four tons of ammonium nitrate in order to avoid additional explosions.[23] Twenty cases of hospitalization were linked to the toxic fumes emitted by the factory fire and lingering effects in the population included burning lungs, itching skin, boils, and rashes.[25]
The $100-million class action lawsuit against the Fricker Company of Anaheim had been dropped a year later in exchange for several, smaller lawsuits as well as legal reform that mandated businesses in California report the type, quantity, and location of toxic chemicals on the premises.[25]
Construction of theDisneyland theme park began on July 16, 1954, and it opened to the public on July 17, 1955. It has become one of the world's most visited tourist attractions, with over 650 million visitors since its opening. The location was formerly 160 acres (0.65 km2) of orange and walnut trees. The opening of Disneyland created a tourism boom in the Anaheim area.Walt Disney had originally intended to purchase additional land to build accommodations for Disneyland visitors; however, the park's construction drained his financial resources and he was unable to acquire more land.Entrepreneurs eager to capitalize on Disney's success moved in and built hotels, restaurants, and shops around Disneyland and eventually boxed in the Disney property, and turned the area surrounding Disneyland into the boulevards of colorfulneon signs that Walt Disney had tried to avoid. The city of Anaheim, eager for tax revenue these hotels would generate, did little to obstruct their construction.[27]
In the 1990s, while Disneyland was undergoing a significant expansion project surrounding the construction ofDisney California Adventure Park, the city of Anaheim rebranded the surrounding area as the Anaheim Resort. The Anaheim Resort district is roughly bounded by theSanta Ana River to the east, Ball Road to the north, Walnut Street to the west, and theGarden Grove city limits to the south at Chapman Avenue, and Orangewood Avenue to the southwest.[28] Attractions within the Resort District include theDisneyland Resort, theAnaheim Convention Center, theHonda Center, Anaheim/Orange County Walk of Stars, andAngel Stadium of Anaheim.[29]
Part of the project included removing the colorful neon signs and replacing them with shorter, more modest signs, as well as widening the arterial streets in the area into tree-lined boulevards.[30][31] Further expansion included the purchase of the Fujishige Strawberry Farm in 1998 which sold for just under $100 million to Disney after nearly half a decade of financial proposals to the former owners.[23][32] Today the former farm features a Hilton Hotel and is the site of the 'Toy Story' parking lot.
In July 2012,political protests by Hispanic residents occurred following thefatal shooting of two men, the first of whom was unarmed. Protesting occurred in the area between State College and East Street, and was motivated by concerns over police brutality, gang activity, domination of the city by commercial interests, and a perceived lack of political representation of Hispanic residents in the city government.[35][36][37] The protests were accompanied by looting of businesses and homes.[38][39]
Anaheim is approximately 25 miles (40 km) southeast ofdowntown Los Angeles. The city roughly follows the east-to-west route of the91 Freeway from the Orange-Riverside county border toBuena Park.
"Anaheim Canyon" redirects here. For the Metrolink train station, seeAnaheim Canyon station.
The city recognizes several districts, including theAnaheim Resort (the area surrounding Disneyland), Anaheim Canyon (an industrial area north ofCalifornia State Route 91 and east ofCalifornia State Route 57), and thePlatinum Triangle (the area surrounding Angel Stadium).Anaheim Hills also maintains a distinct identity. The contiguous commercial development from the Disney Resort through into the cities of Orange, Garden Grove and Santa Ana has collectively been termed theAnaheim–Santa Ana edge city.
Panorama of part of East Anaheim in the Santa Ana Canyon
Like many otherSouth Coast cities, Anaheim maintains a borderlinehot semi-arid climate (KöppenBSh), a little short of aMediterranean climate (KöppenCsa) characterized by warm winters with erratic heavy rainfalls, and hot, essentially rainless summers.[40] The record high temperature in Anaheim is 115 °F (46 °C) on July 6, 2018[41][42] and the record low temperature is 30 °F (−1 °C) on February 15, 1990, and January 30, 2002.[43]
Climate data for Anaheim, California (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1989–present)
Anaheim city, California – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
The census reported that 98.6% of the population lived in households, 1.0% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.4% were institutionalized.[68]
There were 105,740 households, out of which 37.6% included children under the age of 18, 49.6% were married-couple households, 7.6% werecohabiting couple households, 25.7% had a female householder with no partner present, and 17.0% had a male householder with no partner present. 18.2% of households were one person, and 7.5% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.23.[68] There were 78,716families (74.4% of all households).[69]
The age distribution was 22.6% under the age of 18, 10.5% aged 18 to 24, 29.4% aged 25 to 44, 24.8% aged 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 35.6years. For every 100 females, there were 97.3 males.[68]
There were 110,388 housing units at an average density of 2,195.8 units per square mile (847.8 units/km2), of which 105,740 (95.8%) were occupied. Of these, 45.1% were owner-occupied, and 54.9% were occupied by renters.[68]
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 35.2% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older, 39.8% spoke only English at home, 41.2% spokeSpanish, 4.1% spoke otherIndo-European languages, 12.9% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages, and 2.0% spoke other languages. Of those aged 25 or older, 77.5% were high school graduates and 28.8% had a bachelor's degree.[70]
The median household income in 2023 was $90,583, and theper capita income was $36,541. About 9.3% of families and 12.5% of the population were below the poverty line.[71]
The2010 United States census[72] reported that Anaheim had a population of 336,265. The population density was 6,618.0 inhabitants per square mile (2,555.2/km2). The racial makeup of Anaheim was:
There were 177,467Hispanic orLatino residents, of any race (52.8%); 46.0% of Anaheim's population was ofMexican descent, 1.2% Salvadoran, and 1.0% Guatemalan; the remainder of the Hispanic population came from smaller ancestral groups.[73]
The census reported that 332,708 people (98.9% of the population) lived in households, 2,020 (0.6%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 1,537 (0.5%) were institutionalized.
There were 98,294 households, out of which 44,045 (44.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 52,518 (53.4%) wereopposite-sex married couples living together, 14,553 (14.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 7,223 (7.3%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 6,173 (6.3%)unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 733 (0.7%)same-sex married couples or partnerships. 17,448 households (17.8%) were made up of individuals, and 6,396 (6.5%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.38. There were 74,294families (75.6% of all households); the average family size was 3.79.
The age distribution of the population was as follows: 91,917 people (27.3%) under the age of 18, 36,506 (10.9%) aged 18 to 24, 101,110 (30.1%) aged 25 to 44, 75,510 (22.5%) aged 45 to 64, and 31,222 (9.3%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.1 males.
There were 104,237 housing units at an average density of 2,051.5 per square mile (792.1/km2), of which 47,677 (48.5%) were owner-occupied, and 50,617 (51.5%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.7%; the rental vacancy rate was 7.2%. 160,843 people (47.8% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 171,865 people (51.1%) lived in rental housing units.
At the 2010 census, Anaheim had a median household income of $59,627, with 15.6% of the population living below the federal poverty line.[74]
Anaheim's income is based on a tourism economy. In addition toThe Walt Disney Company being the city's largest employer, theDisneyland Resort itself contributes about $4.7 billion annually to Southern California's economy. It also produces $255 million in taxes every year.[76] Another source of tourism is the Anaheim Convention Center, which is home to many important national conferences. Many hotels, especially in the city's Resort district, serve theme park tourists and conventiongoers. Continuous development of commercial, entertainment, and cultural facilities stretches from the Disney area east to the Santa Ana River, south into the cities of Garden Grove, Orange and Santa Ana – collectively, this area has been labeled theAnaheim–Santa Ana edge city and is one of the three largest such clusters in Orange County, together with theSouth Coast Plaza–John Wayne Airport edge city andIrvine Spectrum.
The Anaheim Canyon business park makes up 63% of Anaheim's industrial space and is the largest industrial district in Orange County. Anaheim Canyon is also home to the second-largest business park in Orange County.[77][78]
Several notable companies have corporate offices and/or headquarters within Anaheim.
Larger retail centers include theDowntown Disney shopping area at the Disneyland Resort, thepower centersAnaheim Plaza in western Anaheim (347,000 ft2),[87] and Anaheim Town Square in East Anaheim (374,000 ft2),[88] as well as theAnaheim GardenWalklifestyle center (440,000 ft2 of retail, dining and entertainment located in the Anaheim Resort).
On January 3, 2005, Angels Baseball LP, the ownership group for the Anaheim Angels, announced that it would change the name of the club to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Team spokesmen pointed out that from its inception, the Angels had been granted territorial rights byMajor League Baseball to the counties ofLos Angeles,Ventura,Riverside, andSan Bernardino in addition to Orange County. The new owner,Arturo Moreno, believed the name would help him market the team to the entire Southern California region rather than just Orange County. The "of Anaheim" was included in the official name to comply with a provision of the team's lease at Angel Stadium which requires that "Anaheim" be included in the team's name.
MayorCurt Pringle and other city officials countered that the name change violated the spirit of the lease clause, even if it was in technical compliance. They argued that a name change was a major bargaining chip in negotiations between the city and Disney Baseball Enterprises, Inc., then the ownership group for the Angels. They further argued that the city would never have agreed to the new lease without the name change, because the new lease required that the city partially fund the stadium's renovation, but provided very little revenue for Anaheim. Anaheim sued Angels Baseball LP in Orange CountySuperior Court, and a jurytrial was completed in early February 2006, resulting in a victory for the Angels franchise.
Anaheim appealed the court decision with theCalifornia Court of Appeal in May 2006. The case was tied up in the Appeals Court for over two years. In December 2008, the Appeals Court upheld the February 2006 Decision and ruled in favor of Angels Baseball. In January 2009, the Anaheim City Council voted not to appeal the court case any further, bringing an end to the four-year legal dispute.
Anaheim was, at one point in time, one of the mostpolitically conservative major cities in the United States.[93][94] However, in recent years it has been moving leftward. According to theOrange County Registrar of Voters, as of May 5, 2025, Anaheim has 176,980 registered voters.[95] Of those, 58,411 (41.27%) are registered Democrats, 39,885 (28.18%) are registered Republicans, and 37,877 (26.76%) havedeclined to state a political party.[96]
Anaheim city vote by party in presidential elections
Under itscity charter, Anaheim operates under acouncil–manager government. Legislative authority is vested in acity council of sevennonpartisan members, who hire a professional city manager to oversee day-to-day operations. The mayor serves as the presiding officer of the city council in afirst among equals role. Under the city'sterm limits, an individual may serve a maximum of two terms as a city council member and two terms as the mayor.
Up until 2014, all council seats were elected at large. Voters elected the mayor and four other members of the city council to serve four-year staggered terms. Elections for two council seats were held in years divisible by four while elections for the mayor and the two other council seats were elected during the intervening even-numbered years.
In response toprotests and aCalifornia Voting Rights Act lawsuit by theAmerican Civil Liberties Union and several residents, the city placed two measures on the November 2014 ballot. Measure L proposed that council members be elected by district instead of at large. Measure M proposed to increase the number of council seats from five to seven. Both measures passed.[110]
Fire protection is provided by theAnaheim Fire Department, Disneyland Resort has its own Fire Department, though it does rely on the Anaheim Fire Department for support, and for Paramedic Services. Law enforcement is provided by theAnaheim Police Department. Ambulance service is provided byCare Ambulance Service.
Anaheim Public Utilities is the only municipal owned water and electric utility in Orange County, providing residential and business customers with water and electric services. The utility is regulated and governed locally by the City Council. A Public Utilities Board, made up of Anaheim residents, advises the City Council on major utility issues.[113] Water is sourced from theMetropolitan Water District of Southern California, importing water from Northern California and the Colorado River. Additionally, the Orange County Water District manages groundwater from the Santa Ana River, local rainfall, recycled water, and imported water.[114]
Anaheim has decided to bury power lines along major transportation corridors, converting its electricity system for aesthetic and reliability purposes.[115] To minimize the impact on customer bills, undergrounding is taking place slowly over a period of 50 years, funded by a 4% surcharge on electric bills.[116]
In 2019, Anaheim reported 8 murders; given its population, this rate was lower than the average national rate by 17%. Reported rapes in the city are relatively uncommon as well, but have been increasing, along with the national average. Robbery (396 reported incidents) and aggravated assault (575 incidents) rank among the most frequentviolent crimes in the city, though robbery rates are slightly less than the national average. 1,123burglaries were reported, as well as 5,904 thefts and 1,231 car thefts. All three types of crime were below average.[117]
The Uniform Crime Report (UCR), collected annually by the FBI, compiles police statistics from local and state law enforcement agencies across the nation. The UCR records Part I and Part II crimes. Part I crimes become known to law enforcement and are considered the most serious crimes including homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, and arson. Part II crimes only include arrest data.[118] The 2023 UCR Data for Anaheim is listed below:
Anaheim is home to 74 public schools,[89] 47 of which serve elementary students, nine are junior high schools, fourteen are high schools and three offer alternative education.
In the main portion of the city (not including Anaheim Hills), the major surface streets running west–east, starting with the northernmost, are Orangethorpe Avenue, La Palma Avenue, Lincoln Avenue, Ball Road, and Katella Avenue. The major surface streets running south–north, starting with the westernmost, are Knott Avenue, Beach Boulevard (SR 39), Magnolia Avenue, Brookhurst Street, Euclid Street, West Street/Disneyland Drive, Harbor Boulevard, Anaheim Boulevard, East Street, State College Boulevard, Kraemer Boulevard, and Tustin Avenue.
In Anaheim Hills, the major surface streets that run west–east include Orangethorpe Avenue, La Palma Avenue, Santa Ana Canyon Road, and Nohl Ranch Road. Major surface streets that run north–south include Lakeview Avenue and Fairmont Boulevard.Imperial Highway (SR 90) and Yorba Linda Boulevard/Weir Canyon Road run as south–north roads in the city of Anaheim, but north of Anaheim, Imperial Highway and Yorba Linda Boulevard become west–east arterials.
SevenCaltrans state-maintained highways (in addition to the aforementioned surface streets SR 39 and SR 90) run through the city of Anaheim, four of which are freeways and one being a toll road. They include theSanta Ana Freeway (I-5), the Orange Freeway (SR 57), and the Riverside Freeway (SR 91). The Costa Mesa Freeway (SR 55), and the Eastern Transportation Corridor(SR 241 toll road) also have short stretches within the city limits.
^abcdefghArmor, Samuel; E.B. Merritt (1921)."IV".History of Orange County, California: With Biographical Sketches. Los Angeles: Historic Record Company. p. 53. RetrievedOctober 3, 2013.
^abChristopher N. Cocoltchos, "The Invisible Empire and the Search for the Orderly Community: The Ku Klux Klan in Anaheim, California", in Shawn Lay, ed.The invisible empire in the West (2004), pp. 97–120.
^France, Van Arsdale (1991).Window on Main Street : 35 years of creating happiness at Disneyland Park (1st ed.). Nashua, NH: Laughter Publications. p. 17.ISBN0-941613-17-8.
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