Diamond Bar, California
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Diamond Bar is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,287. It is named after the "diamond over a bar" branding iron registered in 1918 by ranch owner Frederich E. Lewis.
Located at the junction of the Pomona and Orange Freeways, Diamond Bar is primarily a residential city with shopping centers interspersed within the city. As with most Southern California cities, more modest housing is located closer to freeways and main roads, while upscale housing is located mostly in hilly terrain.
The city features a public Los Angeles County golf course. In addition, The Country, a gated hillside enclave of 751 homesites, is located in Diamond Bar. Developed since the 1970s, The Country contains multi-million dollar estate residences, and is one of Southern California's most prestigious communities.
Diamond Bar has the first hydrogen fueling station (http://www.aqmd.gov/news1/2004/HydrogenStationGrandOpeningPR.html) to be built in Southern California; near the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) building.
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History
As with many Southern California communities, Diamond Bar's recorded history began with a Mexican land grant. On March 30, 1840 Jose de la Luz Linares founded the Rancho Los Nogales (Ranch of the Walnut Trees) on a Mexican land grant of 4,340 acres (18 km²) deeded to him by Governor Juan Alvarado, which included Brea Canyon and the eastern Walnut Valley. Linares died in 1847, and his widow sold a choice portion of the ranch to Ricardo Vejar for $100 in merchandise, 100 calves, and the assumption of her late husband's debts. Vejar already owned the Rancho San Jose to the east (now Pomona), and by acquiring the rest of Rancho Los Nogales over the next ten years, became the fifth wealthiest landowner in Los Angeles County, with over 10,000 acres.
Unfortunately, Vejar's luck did not last. When the United States government took over California and resurveyed the old land grants, he ended up very little land. Then the great drought of the 1860's forced most of the area ranchers to borrow money to feed their cattle. Vejar had been trading with two Los Angeles merchants, Isaac Schlesinger and Hyman Tischler, and they loaned him $600 for supplies at an interest rate of eight percent per month. When the note, with compounded interest, was finally called in for over $28,000, Vejar couldn't pay, and his property passed to Schlesinger and Tischler in 1864.
The Rancho Los Nogales did not prosper under its new owners, and they were surrounded by hostile neighbors who remained loyal to Vejar. In 1866, they sold the ranch to Louis Phillips for $30,000. Phillips sold a portion of the ranch to William Rubettom, who opened up a tavern and overland stage station for the Butterfield route near where the Orange Freeway now crosses Pomona Boulevard. He called the community "Spadra," after his hometown in Arkansas, and this became the first named settlement in the Diamond Bar area.
In 1873, the Rancho Los Nogales was sold again, this time to Wilson Beach and George Butler. After that, the property became quite fragmented as parcels were sold off to many different owners. But in 1918, Frederich E. Lewis bought up most of the original Rancho Los Nogales again, and he registered the Brand of Diamond Bar with the California Department of Agriculture. Lewis sold the Diamond Bar Ranch to the Bartholome family in 1943, and they continued to raise cattle on it for the next thirteen years.
In 1956, the Diamond Bar Ranch looked much as it did in 1840, with its golden hills peppered by green stands of oak and walnut trees, and grazed by large herds of cattle. The changes of the previous century were nothing, however, compared to the plans that the Transamerica Corporation had for Diamond Bar. In that year, they paid $10,000,000 for 8,000 acres of Brea Canyon, and they master-planned a community that would eventually become home to some 50,000 people. The first model homes were built at the north end of town in 1960, and development first took place on much of the flat tracts of land adjacent to the new freeways being built. During the 1980s, developers began cropping hillsides at a rapid pace to make way for housing. By the late 1990s and early 2000s, development continued, albeit at a much slower pace.
Geography
Diamond Bar is located at 34°0'6" North, 117°49'15" West (34.001652, -117.820761)Template:GR.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 38.2 km² (14.8 mi²). 38.2 km² (14.8 mi²) of it is land and none of it is covered by water.
Positioned in the southeastern San Gabriel Valley and Los Angeles County, Diamond Bar is approximately 29 miles east of downtown Los Angeles and is adjacent to the Inland Empire region on the east, and Orange County to the south.
Demographics
Similar to many San Gabriel Valley cities such as San Marino and Arcadia, Diamond Bar has experienced a remarkable growth in Asian-American population since the 1980s. Attracted to the area's schools and the prestige of a Diamond Bar address, many affluent Asian-Americans commuting to areas such as Rowland Heights and Alhambra have moved here. In addition, Asian-oriented businesses have since appeared in the city as well.
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 56,287 people, 17,651 households, and 14,809 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,472.4/km² (3,813.2/mi²). There are 17,959 housing units at an average density of 469.8/km² (1,216.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 41.05% White, 4.76% Black or African American, 0.33% Native American, 42.76% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 6.78% from other races, and 4.21% from two or more races. 18.46% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 17,651 households out of which 44.4% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.3% are married couples living together, 11.1% have a female householder with no husband present, and 16.1% are non-families. 12.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 2.7% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.18 and the average family size is 3.47.
In the city the population is spread out with 27.0% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 27.2% from 45 to 64, and 7.5% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 36 years. For every 100 females there are 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 92.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $68,871, and the median income for a family is $71,911. Males have a median income of $51,059 versus $37,002 for females. The per capita income for the city is $25,472. 6.0% of the population and 5.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 5.1% of those under the age of 18 and 6.1% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
External link
- Official site (http://www.ci.diamond-bar.ca.us/home/index.asp)
- Diamond Bar Chamber of Commerce (http://www.diamondbarchamber.com/)
- The Country Estates, Diamond Bar (http://www.thecountry.org/theCountry.htm)