Placentia, California

Placentia is a city in northern Orange County, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 46,488.

History

In 1837, the Mexican Governor in charge of what is now Southern California granted a huge swath of land to Juan Ontiveros called El Rancho San Juan Cajon de Santa Ana, comprising the modern cities of Anaheim, Fullerton, La Habra, Placentia and Yorba Linda.

Related Topics:
1837 - Southern California - Juan Ontiveros - El Rancho San Juan Cajon de Santa Ana - Anaheim - Fullerton - La Habra - Yorba Linda

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In 1865, Daniel Kramer was the first Anglo pioneer to come to the area. He purchased 3,900 acres (16 km²). In 1868, William McFadden and Sarah Ann McFadden bought 100 acres (400,000 m²). The town was named "Placentia" by Sarah Ann McFadden in 1876. The word comes from a Latin word meaning "a pleasant place to live."

Related Topics:
1865 - Daniel Kramer - 1868 - William McFadden - Sarah Ann McFadden - 1876 - Latin

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In 1910, A. S. Bradford convinced the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway to re-route a track through Placentia on its way to Los Angeles. The railroad station, combined with the city’s growing agricultural industry (citrus, walnuts, avocados and grapes), put Placentia on the map. Bradford was also the person who laid out the city streets.

Related Topics:
1910 - A. S. Bradford - Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway - Los Angeles - Citrus - Walnut - Avocado - Grapes

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By 1926, there were 500 residents and they voted for incorporation. By 1960, Placentia's population had increased to only 5,000, but as Orange County suburbanized in the following decade, it swelled to 25,000. Currently, Placentia boasts 45,000 residents.

Related Topics:
1926 - 1960

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By the 1990s, Placentia's downtown had become somewhat run-down in comparison to those of its neighbors; city officials pinned much of the blame on the railroad tracks that had once brought the town so much prosperity, but were now largely occupied by trains barrelling through town on their way to the Midwest from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Inspired by the Alameda Corridor project in southern Los Angeles, Placentia created a project, OnTrac, that called for the tracks to be rerouted through a concrete-lined ditch approximately ten feet below grade level, reducing noise and increasing safety via the elimination of grade crossings. However, fiscal mismanagement and the withdrawal of promised federal funds resulted instead in the project nearly bankrupting the city, which was forced to drastically curtail services. As of 2004, the controversy over OnTrac continues, and it is unclear if the project will ever be completed.

Related Topics:
1990s - Long Beach - Alameda Corridor - Bankrupt

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