1853 – June – Diary of Dr. Thomas Flint
The Bixbys are a legendary name in the history of Long Beach and the Rancho Los Alamitos, and deservedly so. The true start of the family fortune goes back to…
Mrs. O Watte new Pres. of St. Isadore Altar Society
The Enterprise, Thursday, February 12, 1954, page 7 Mrs. Oscar Watte was elected president for the coming term of the Altar Society of St. Isadore’s Catholic Church of Los Alamitos.…
Beginnings of the The Youth Center in Los Alamitos
I have heard many stories abut the Youth Center’s beginnings in the Los Alamitos area, but never a definitive, documentable explanation. And I suspect, as often happens with institutional histories,…
Chamber of Commerce has long history in Los Alamitos
While not officially incorporated as a city until 1960, Los Alamitos has had a very definite presence since it was first laid out as a sugar factory town in 1896.…
OC Historical Roundup blog features old Los Alamitos
The June 11 entry in Chris Jepsen’s OC Historical Roundup blog features one of the classic photos of early Los Alamitos, most likely taken in the late 19 teens or…
1955-56 — Before Rossmoor, Ross Cortese built the Frematic Homes in Anaheim
This article was originally published in the Anaheim Historical Society’s January 2010 newsletter. I have been in touch with the author and we have shared much information on Ross Cortese,…
Los Alamitos as seen on Sanborn Maps – 1898, 1907 and 1922
A valuable tool for any history buff are the the Sanborn Maps. Originally created to assess fire insurance liability in urbanized areas in the United States, the maps are now…
1857-1910 – Anaheim Landing was first permanent settlement in this area
Before Los Alamitos, before Seal Beach (even before Long Beach), there was Anaheim Landing. Now it’s swallowed up by the US Naval Weapons Station, but it was the first major…
Los Alamitos – The Floods of 1952
Before they were channeled in high concrete walls, the San Gabriel, Los Angeles, Santa Ana Rivers as well as Coyote Creek used to frequently flood during heavy rains. More often…
Isais W. Hellman
Los Alamitos
Los Alamitos Sugar Factory
Phillip A. Stanton
Seal Beach
The Bixbys
The Clarks
The Land & Rivers
1896 – USGS map showing Los Alamitos area as it was
To the left is a late 1896 USGS map showing the lower portion of “the Downey” quadrangle, the upper portion of the Bolsa quadrangle and the west portion of the…