Founded in the late 19th century, Norwalk was incorporated as a city in 1957. It is located 17 miles (27 km) southeast ofdowntown Los Angeles and is part of theGreater Los Angeles area.
Norwalk is a member of theGateway Cities Council of Governments. Norwalk's sister cities areMorelia in the Mexican state of Michoacán, andHermosillo, in the Mexican state of Sonora.[7]
The area known as "Norwalk" was first home to theShoshonean Native American tribe. They survived primarily onhoney, an array of berries, acorns, sage, squirrels, rabbits and birds. Their huts were part of the Sejat Indian village.[8]
In the late 1760s, settlers and missions flourished under Spanish rule with the famousEl Camino Real trail traversing the area.Manuel Nieto, a Spanish soldier, received aSpanish land grant (Rancho Los Nietos) in 1784 that included Norwalk.
After theMexican–American War in 1848, the Rancho and mining days ended. Portions of the land were subdivided and made available for sale whenCalifornia was admitted into the union of the United States. Word of this land development reached the Sproul Brothers in Oregon. They recalled the fertile land and huge sycamore trees they saw during an earlier visit to the Southern California area. In 1869, Atwood Sproul, on behalf of his brother, Gilbert, purchased 463 acres (1.87 km2) of land at $11 an acre ($2,700/km2) in an area known asCorazón de los Valles, or "Heart of the Valleys".[9]
By 1873, railroads were being built in the area and the Sprouls deeded 23 acres (93,000 m2), stipulating a "passenger stop" clause in the deed. Three days after the Anaheim Branch Railroad crossed the "North-walk" for the first time, Gilbert Sproul surveyed a town site. In 1874, the name was recorded officially as Norwalk. While a majority of the Norwalk countryside remained undeveloped during the 1880s, the Norwalk Station allowed potential residents the opportunity to visit the "country" from across the nation.[10]
The families referred to as the "first families" of Norwalk (including the Sprouls, the Dewitts, the Settles, and the Orrs) settled in the area in the years before 1900. D.D. Johnston pioneered the first school system in Norwalk in 1880. Johnston was also responsible for the first real industry in town, a cheese factory, by furnishing Tom Lumbard with the money in 1882. Norwalk's prosperity was evident in the 1890s with the construction of a number of fine homes that were located in the middle of orchards, farms and dairies. Headstones for these families can be found at Little Lake Cemetery, which was founded in 1843 on the border between Norwalk andSanta Fe Springs at Lakeland Road.
Norwalk depot and a wagon loaded with milk cans, 1910
At the turn of the 19th century, Norwalk had become established as a dairy center. Of the 50 local families reported in the 1900 census, most were associated with farming or with the dairy industry. Norwalk was also the home of some of the largest sugar beet farms in all of Southern California during this era. Many of the dairy farmers who settled in Norwalk during the early part of the 20th century were Dutch.
In February 1958, two military aircraft, a DouglasC-118A military transport and a U.S. NavyP2V-5F Neptune patrol bomber, collided over Norwalk at night. Forty-seven servicemen were killed, as was a civilian 23-year-old woman on the ground who was hit by falling debris. A plaque commemorating the disaster and erected by the American Legion in 1961 marks the spot of the accident, today a mini-mall at the corner of Firestone Boulevard and Pioneer Boulevard.
Built in 1891 by the D.D. Johnston family, theHargitt House was built in the architectural style ofVictorian Eastlake. The Hargitt House Museum, located at 12426 Mapledale, was donated to the people of Norwalk by Charles ("Chun") and Ida Hargitt.[12]
TheSproul House is aStick Style-influenced,[13][14][15]Victorian farm house built in 1870 by the founder of Norwalk, Gilbert Sproul. He and his family lived there while he founded Norwalk. His descendants lived in the house continually until 1962 when it was donated to the city.[16] Today it houses the Gilbert Sproul Museum which covers Norwalk history through artifacts, photos, documents and other interpretive elements.[17][18]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 25.243 km2 (10 sq mi). 9.707 square miles (25.14 km2) of it is land and 0.039 square miles (0.10 km2) of it (0.40%) is water.
Norwalk first appeared as a city in the1960 U.S. census as part of the Downey-Norwalk census county division (pop. 272,729 in 1960).[38]
Norwalk 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 98.8% of the population lived in households, 0.7% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.5% were institutionalized.[41]
There were 27,835 households, out of which 42.6% included children under the age of 18, 52.7% were married-couple households, 6.8% werecohabiting couple households, 25.7% had a female householder with no partner present, and 14.8% had a male householder with no partner present. 13.1% of households were one person, and 6.5% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.65.[41] There were 22,894families (82.2% of all households).[42]
The age distribution was 22.0% under the age of 18, 10.4% aged 18 to 24, 28.6% aged 25 to 44, 25.2% aged 45 to 64, and 13.7% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 36.6years. For every 100 females, there were 95.8 males.[41]
There were 28,455 housing units at an average density of 2,931.4 units per square mile (1,131.8 units/km2), of which 27,835 (97.8%) were occupied. Of these, 64.6% were owner-occupied, and 35.4% were occupied by renters.[41]
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $98,709, and theper capita income was $31,989. About 7.3% of families and 9.7% of the population were below the poverty line.[43]
The2010 United States census[44] reported that Norwalk had a population of 105,549. The population density was 10,829.6 inhabitants per square mile (4,181.3/km2). The racial makeup of Norwalk was 52,089 (49.4%)White (12.3% Non-Hispanic White),[45] 4,593 (4.4%)African American, 1,213 (1.1%)Native American, 12,700 (12.0%)Asian (5.3% Filipino, 2.5% Korean, 0.9% Chinese, 0.8% Indian, 0.8% Vietnamese, 0.6% Cambodian, 0.3% Thai, 0.3% Japanese), 431 (0.4%)Pacific Islander, 29,954 (28.4%) fromother races, and 4,569 (4.3%) from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 74,041 persons (70.1%)
The Census reported that 103,934 people (98.5% of the population) lived in households, 315 (0.3%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 1,300 (1.2%) were institutionalized.
There were 27,130 households, out of which 13,678 (50.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 15,190 (56.0%) wereopposite-sex married couples living together, 5,045 (18.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 2,348 (8.7%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,712 (6.3%)unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 178 (0.7%)same-sex married couples or partnerships. 3,417 households (12.6%) were made up of individuals, and 1,631 (6.0%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.83. There were 22,583families (83.2% of all households); the average family size was 4.10.
The population was spread out, with 29,164 people (27.6%) under the age of 18, 12,026 people (11.4%) aged 18 to 24, 30,138 people (28.6%) aged 25 to 44, 23,790 people (22.5%) aged 45 to 64, and 10,431 people (9.9%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.3 males.
There were 28,083 housing units at an average density of 2,881.4 per square mile (1,112.5/km2), of which 17,671 (65.1%) were owner-occupied, and 9,459 (34.9%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.8%. 70,180 people (66.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 33,754 people (32.0%) lived in rental housing units.
During 2009–2013, Norwalk had a median household income of $60,770, with 12.9% of the population living below the federal poverty line.[45]
Mapping L.A. reported that in 2000, Mexican (50.7%) and Filipino (4.3%) were the most common ancestries. Mexico (58.8%) and the Philippines (9.2%) were the most common foreign places of birth.[46]
Norwalk operates under a Council/Manager form of government, established by the Charter of the City of Norwalk which was drafted in 1957. The five-member City Council acts as the city's chief policy-making body. Every two years, Council members are elected by the citizens of Norwalk to serve four-year, overlapping terms. Council members are not limited to the number of terms they may serve. The Mayor is selected by the council and serves a one-year term.
Norwalk is acontract city, in which theLos Angeles County Sheriff's Department provides police services. It maintains its own station, which also provides police services toLa Mirada and unincorporatedSouth Whittier. At one time the station also provided contracted police services toSanta Fe Springs, but those services ended when the city entered into a contract with theWhittier Police Department. The station is staffed with 206 sworn personnel.
TheUnited States Postal Service operates the Norwalk Post Office at 14011 Clarkdale Avenue and the Paddison Square Post Office at 12415 Norwalk Boulevard.[51][52]
TheMetrolink Orange County Line and 91/Perris Valley Line (which operate on the same track in this area) trains connect Norwalk (theNorwalk/Santa Fe Springs station) with Orange County,Riverside County, and Downtown Los Angeles.
The 162-acre (0.66 km2)Metropolitan State Hospital, a psychiatric and mental health facility operated by the California Department of State Hospitals, is located in Norwalk. It has four different types of categories for patient intake. The four categories being; incompetent to stand trial (PC 1370), offender with a mental health disorder (PCS 2962/2972), not guilty by reason of insanity (PC 1026), and conservatorship lanterman-petris-short (LPS) Act.[54]
Although Norwalk is credited with being the home toCerritos College, only the east half of the campus is actually in Norwalk, the west half is in Cerritos. Founded in 1955, Cerritos College is a public community college serving an area of 52 square miles (130 km2) of southeastern Los Angeles county. The college offers degrees and certificates in 87 areas of study in nine divisions. Over 1,200 students complete their course of studies each year.
Norwalk Grammar School class in 1890. Cora Hargitt Middle School Academy (operated 1980–2008) was named after the teacher, at top left.
headquartered at 12820 Pioneer Boulevard in Norwalk. NLMUSD also contains The California distinguished schoolJ.B. Morrison Elementary Magnet School in Norwalk.
Among the several parochial schools in Norwalk are Saint John of God School (Roman Catholic, of theRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles), Pioneer Baptist School (Baptist Christian), and Saint Linus School (Roman Catholic).
The independent TV stationKHJ-TV/KCAL-TV channel 9 was licensed to Norwalk for a year in 1989 during an ownership transfer as part of a settlement with theFCC by former ownerRKO General; the one-year change incity of license was barely noted on-air (it returned to a city of license of Los Angeles in 1990), and the station never had any actual assets based in Norwalk.Los Cerritos Community News serves the city.
James Gattuso, analyst and pundit in Washington, D.C., who often appears on television and radio to give opinions on domestic policy; Excelsior High School Class of 1975
Keith Ginter, MLB player for Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, and Oakland Athletics[63]
Bob Kevoian, radio host,The Bob & Tom Show, Norwalk High Class of 1969
Alexandra Nechita, artist, considered youngest cubist ever discovered (at age 8) and nicknamed "petite Picasso"; attended Moffit Elementary School prior to her fame when she relocated outside of Norwalk
Pat Nixon (1912–93), First Lady of United States 1969–74, wife of PresidentRichard Nixon; graduate of Excelsior High School Class of 1929 (family bought a truck farm in Dairy Valley, formerly in Artesia, now part of Cerritos)
^Long Beach Press-Telegram, December 23, 1923, Page 44
^McGroarty, J. S. (1923). History of Los Angeles County. United States: American Historical Society, Incorporated. p.544 " in the winter of 1868 he and his brother Gilbert H. bought 457 acres of unimproved land at what is now Norwalk, the original portion of the Sproul ranch costing only eleven dollars an acre. The village of Norwalk stands on this ranch. Immediately after locating on the property, Atwood Sproul built a livery barn and began buying, selling and training horses. A number of splendid horses were kept there. One of them was Conveth, a chestnut horse that sold for $ 10,000 as a yearling . The Sproul Brothers gave the right of way and depot grounds, altogether twenty-three acres, to the railroad . In the deed conveying this property was a clause compelling maintenance of daily train service for the station at Norwalk. This clause proved very valuable to the citizens of the community. At one time the railroad declined to stop for passengers. "
^Shrock, Joel (2004).The Gilded Age. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 75.ISBN978-0-313-32204-4.small wooden boards [...] that were often horizontal, diagonal, and vertical. [...] These decorative cross timbers were also called stickwork.
^Burt, Tim (Jul 3, 1977) "Early Norwalk Lives at Sproul Museum"Long Beach Press-Telegram, Page 31 "Not many families open up their houses to thousands of visitors a year But that's what Vida Sproul Hunter did in 1962 when she donated the home of her grandfather Gilbert H Sproul to the city of Norwalk Since then schoolchildren and history buffs have visited the museum taking particular interest in such items as Civil War guns an old-fashioned disc-record set and farming equipment of the pre-1900s There is also an 1877 piano which according to museum curator Billie Robinson still sounds good A 1910 Edison phonograph is also on display...Sproul purchased the property in 1868 and built the house in 1870. The house was moved in 1962 to its current location on Sproul Street and was opened to tourists in 1964. 'Most of the items we collected from residents when we opened in 1962' Mrs Robinson said 'All of the guns are from the Sproul family '. Vida Sproul Hunter was the last Sproul to live in the house After that the house was rented for a while and then donated to the city. During one year 28000 people toured the house. They've come from all over the area to see it. The house has remained basically the same structurally according to Mrs Robinson 'It's a well-built house to stand up this long We added a workshop and an office for me but those are the only changes '"
^Reece, Daphne (1983).Historic Houses of California. San Francisco, CA : Chronicle Books. p. 114.ISBN0877012725. Archived fromthe original on January 23, 2012. RetrievedMay 3, 2023.Gilbert Sproul House 1970 Norwalk's founder, Gilbert Sproul, built this simple redwood home with few pretensions to architectural style. An adventurous Yankee from Maine, Sproul had traveled widely in the West Indies and the Orient before settling down as a lumber baron in Oregon; he also was quick to sense the opportunities when Southern California's great ranchos were subdivided and settlers poured into the state. His house became the scene of many of Norwalk's early town meetings. Donated with all its original furnishings to the city by Sproul's granddaughter in 1964, it is now a museum furnished with contemporary antiques.
^A Guide to historic places in Los Angeles County : prepared under the auspices of the History Team of the City of Los Angeles American Revolution Bicentennial Committee. Dubuque, Iowa : Kendall/Hunt Pub. Co. 1978. pp. 232–233.ISBN978-0-8403-7501-8. RetrievedMay 3, 2023.Gilbert Sproul, founder of Norwalk, built this redwood home for himself and his family in 1870. Many town meetings were held in this house, which was one of the first homes in the Norwalk area. Sproul's granddaughter, Vida Sproul Hunter, donated the home to the City, which moved the building about 100 yards to its present location, where since 1964 it has been open to the public as the Sproul Museum. Inside is now a city museum in Norwalk Park. Original furniture, much of which dates back to 1870, along with materials relating to the history of Norwalk, such as maps, early school pictures, and other city photographs. In addition there are displays of dolls, guns, and Indian artifacts.
^"Department of State Hospitals (DSH)".California Department of State Hospitals. State of California Department of State Hospitals. 2012. RetrievedFebruary 8, 2016.
