Lynwood, California

History

Spanish aristocrats, or dons, and American pioneers purchased, settled, and formed a small communal town in the area. In 1810, Don Antonio Maria Lugo was awarded 11 square leagues of land in California by the king of Spain for his military service during the establishment of the Francisco missions in the state. After Lugo received these tracts of land (29,514 acres), Lugo named the area Rancho San Antonio, possibly after birthplace at La Misión San Antonio de Padua, in Jolon, California. These tracts of land make up the bordering cities of Bell, Bell Gardens, Commerce, Cudahy, Huntington Park, Lynwood, Maywood, Montebello, South Gate, Vernon, and Walnut Park today.

Once majority non-Hispanic white, Lynwood elected its first Black councilmember in 1983 and in December 1985, elected its first Black mayor, Robert Henning. Into the 1990s, the political establishment remained in the control of the Black population which was gradually eroded by ascendent Latino population. After a succession of African American mayors (Evelyn Wells, Paul Richards), Lynwood saw its first Latino mayor, Armando Rea, in 1997.

On March 20, 2006, Lynwood's longest serving former mayor Paul H. Richards II was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after being convicted in 2005 on numerous corruption charges that centered on his funneling of $6 million in city business — including exorbitant no-bid contracts — to a "consulting company" controlled by him and his family. Richards had served on the City Council from 1986 until he was recalled by voters in 2003; during that time he served seven terms as mayor.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.8 sqmi, all land.

Demographics

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that Lynwood had a population of 67,265. The population density was 13,894.9 PD/sqmi. The racial makeup of Lynwood was 13.3% White, 8.2% African American, 3.0% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 56.4% from other races, and 18.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 88.3% of the population.

The census reported that 96.7% of the population lived in households, 0.5% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 2.8% were institutionalized.

There were 15,553 households, out of which 55.1% included children under the age of 18, 49.9% were married-couple households, 9.2% were cohabiting couple households, 26.7% had a female householder with no partner present, and 14.2% had a male householder with no partner present. 9.1% of households were one person, and 3.1% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 4.18.

The age distribution was 26.2% under the age of 18, 11.4% aged 18 to 24, 30.0% aged 25 to 44, 23.1% aged 45 to 64, and 9.4% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 32.1years. For every 100 females, there were 93.7 males.

There were 15,846 housing units at an average density of 3,273.3 /mi2, of which 15,553 (98.2%) were occupied. Of these, 46.6% were owner-occupied, and 53.4% were occupied by renters.

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $70,236, and the per capita income was $21,193. About 14.2% of families and 17.4% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010

At the 2010 census, Lynwood had a population of 69,772. The population density was 14,415.7 PD/sqmi. The racial makeup of Lynwood was 27,444 (39.3%) White (2.2% Non-Hispanic White), 7,168 (10.3%) African American, 464 (0.7%) Native American, 457 (0.7%) Asian, 206 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 31,652 (45.4%) from other races, and 2,381 (3.4%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 60,452 persons (86.6%).

The census reported that 67,120 people (96.2% of the population) lived in households, 449 (0.6%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 2,203 (3.2%) were institutionalized.[citation needed]

There were 14,680 households, 9,790 (66.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 8,303 (56.6%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 3,266 (22.2%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,569 (10.7%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,281 (8.7%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 105 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,064 households (7.2%) were one person and 328 (2.2%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 4.57. There were 13,138 families (89.5% of households); the average family size was 4.62.[citation needed]

The age distribution was 22,977 people (32.9%) under the age of 18, 8,705 people (12.5%) aged 18 to 24, 21,245 people (30.4%) aged 25 to 44, 13,075 people (18.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 3,770 people (5.4%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 27.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.1 males.[citation needed]

There were 15,277 housing units at an average density of 3,156.4 per square mile, of the occupied units 6,829 (46.5%) were owner-occupied and 7,851 (53.5%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.9%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.7%. 34,023 people (48.8% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 33,097 people (47.4%) lived in rental housing units.[citation needed]

2000

As of 2000, speakers of Spanish as their first language accounted for 77.43% of residents, while English was spoken by 22.13%, Thai was spoken by 0.16%, Samoan was spoken by 0.09%, Gujarati was spoken by 0.07%, Tagalog was spoken by 0.07%, Vietnamese by 0.05% of the population.

Lynwood went through five phases of demographic change in the 20th century. First, a colonial settlement. Second, a farming small town. Third, a mostly working-class white suburb (some of the residents of Okie background) from 1940 to 1970. Fourth, a majority African-American city between 1970 and 1990, and today, predominantly Latino.[citation needed]

In 2000, Mexican (68.1%) and Salvadoran (2.9%) were the most common ancestries in Lynwood. Mexico (84.0%) and El Salvador (7.8%) were the most common foreign places of birth.

Government and infrastructure

The Long Beach Freeway (I-710) and Century Freeway (I-105) run through the city. The C Line of the Los Angeles Metro runs through the city, in the median of I-105, and serves the city at Lynwood station.

Fire protection in Lynwood is provided by the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The LACFD operates Station #147 at 3161 East Imperial Highway and Station #148 at 4262 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, both in Lynwood, as a part of Battalion 13 The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) operates the Century Station in Lynwood. The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the South Health Center in Watts, Los Angeles, serving Lynwood.

Lynwood is represented in the 62nd California State Assembly District by Jose Solache and in the 33rd Senate District represented by Democrat Lena Gonzalez. In the United States House of Representatives, Lynwood is in . Janice Hahn represents Lynwood located in the Fourth Los Angeles Board of Supervisors District.

The United States Postal Service operates the Lynwood Post Office at 11200 Long Beach Boulevard and the East Lynwood Post Office at 11634 Atlantic Avenue.

The City of Lynwood operates three parks: Lynwood City Park, Lynwood Skate Park, and Yvonne Burke-John D. Ham Park.

Education

Most of Lynwood is served by the Lynwood Unified School District. High schools include Lynwood High School, Marco Antonio Firebaugh High School, and Vista High School.

Public libraries

County of Los Angeles Public Library operates the Lynwood Library at 11320 Bullis Road.

Sister cities

• Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Mexico
• Zacatecas, Zacatecas, Mexico
• Talpa de Allende, Jalisco, Mexico

Notable people==

• Rick Adelman, NBA coach
• Jim Barr, MLB pitcher
• Glen Bell, founder of Taco Bell
• Kat Blaque, YouTube personality and transgender rights activist
• Gennifer Brandon, WNBA player
• Rick Burleson, MLB Shortstop
• Kevin Costner, actor and director
• Louella Daetweiler, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player
• Dudley Dickerson, Three Stooges actor
• Ed Fiori, professional golfer
• Steven Dean Gordon, serial killer on California’s death row
• David Greenwood, UCLA and NBA basketball player
• Greg Harris, professional baseball pitcher
• Robert Henning, first African-American mayor of Lynwood
• Davon Jefferson, professional basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
• Leslie Jones, comedian
• Jim Ladd, radio broadcaster
• Ulysses Llanez, soccer player who represented the United States national team
• Pat Martin, radio broadcaster
• Bob May, professional golfer
• Shane Mosley, boxing champion
• Efren Navarro, professional baseball player
• Violet Palmer, NBA referee
• Ricky Peters, MLB outfielder
• Paul Richards, former mayor of Lynwood
• Patty Rodriguez, producer, author, radio personality
• Pete Rozelle, NFL Commissioner, 1960–89
• Loretta Sanchez, politician who served in the United States House of Representatives
• Duke Snider, Hall of Fame outfielder for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers
• Dave Stevens, artist, illustrator and creator of the Rocketeer
• Jeff Tedford, college football coach
• Janet Thurlow, jazz singer
• Robert Van't Hof, professional tennis player and 1980 NCAA singles champion for University of Southern California
• Fidel Vargas, mayor of Baldwin Park
• Julio G, radio host and DJ
• Leon White, professional wrestler "Big Van Vader"
• Evelyn Wells, the first female and second African-American mayor of Lynwood
• Venus Williams, tennis player, former World no. 1 and 7-time Grand Slam winner
• "Weird Al" Yankovic, parody musician; named his 2006 album Straight Outta Lynwood in honor of his hometown

Landmarks and attractions

Landmarks in Lynwood include Plaza México, Lynwood Pacific Electric Railway Depot, and Lynwood Park. Plaza México is a shopping mall located at 3100 E Imperial Highway in Lynwood, California. The mall is inspired by traditional Mexican plazas and incorporates architectural and cultural elements that celebrate Mexican heritage. It serves as both a commercial and cultural hub, offering a unique shopping and dining experience while hosting events that reflect the vibrancy of Mexican traditions. The Lynwood Pacific Electric Railway Depot is a historic landmark in Lynwood, California, that reflects the city’s transportation heritage. Originally constructed in 1917, the depot was part of the Pacific Electric Railway’s Santa Ana Line, which provided interurban train service connecting Lynwood to Los Angeles and surrounding communities.

References

References

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