Editing Garden Grove, California (section)

==History==
[[File:Garden Grove Methodist Church (43289714010).jpg|thumb|left|Garden Grove, c. 1950s]]

===19th century===
[[Rancho Las Bolsas]] was a land grant under Mexican governance that primarily dealt in cattle ranching in the central Orange County floodplains. The land had originally belonged to the indigenous Tongva and Acjachemem people<ref>{{Cite web |title=Native-Land.ca {{!}} Our home on native land |url=https://native-land.ca/listings/territories/acjachemen-juaneno |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=native-land.ca}}</ref>, but featured displacement under the Spanish colonization and Mexican land grants<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Lewinnek |first=Elaine |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv2j6xf5f?turn_away=true&seq=19 |title=A People's Guide to Orange County |last2=Arellano |first2=Gustavo |last3=Vo Dang |first3=Thuy |date=2022 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-29995-5 |edition=1 |volume=4}}</ref>. 

Garden Grove was founded by [[Alonzo Cook]] in 1874. A school district and [[Methodist]] church were organized that year. It remained a small rural crossroads and farming community until the arrival of the Pacific Electric Railroad in 1905. The rail connection helped the town prosper with the influx of tourists, visitors and eventually settlers,<ref>{{cite web |title=History of Garden Grove, From Community to Town |url=https://ggcity.org/history#:~:text=By%20the%20time%20Orange%20County,and%20before%20long%2C%20more%20settlers. |website=ggcity.org |publisher=Garden Grove City |access-date=March 11, 2022}}</ref> and it was noted for its crops of [[Orange (fruit)|oranges]], [[Walnut|walnuts]], [[chili pepper]]s and later [[Strawberry|strawberries]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Garden Grove {{!}} California, United States|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Garden-Grove|access-date=September 1, 2021|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref>

===20th century===
In 1933, much of the town's central business district was destroyed by the [[Long Beach earthquake]], and one person was killed at the high school. The post-[[World War II]] boom led to rapid development, and Garden Grove was incorporated as a city in 1956 with about 44,000 residents.<ref>[https://ggcity.org/history History]</ref>

In 1956, [[Orange County Plaza]] (now The Promenade) was opened at Chapman and Brookhurst, and upon its expansion in 1959, it had 60 stores, including a [[J. C. Penney]], 2 variety stores and 2 supermarkets, and billed itself as both the largest and the first regional shopping center in Orange County.<ref>{{cite news |title=Merchants announce new store opening |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19872435/the-los-angeles-times/ |work=Los Angeles Times |date=October 28, 1956 |page=131}}</ref><ref name="Independent Press-Telegram 1959-02-23">{{cite news |title=Orange County Plaza Center will have two supermarkets |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55211497/orange-county-plaza/ |work=Independent Press-Telegram |location=Long Beach, California |date=February 23, 1959 |page=53}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Sixty Stores Assures Wide Buying Choice |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55199824/sixty-stores-assures-wide-buying-choice/ |work=Los Angeles Times |date=April 26, 1959}}</ref>

=== 21st century ===
During the 1970s, Korean Americans began to move into Garden Grove in several waves of migration<ref name=":1" />. It eventually turned the area into "Little Seoul" (also referred to as [[Koreatown, Garden Grove|Korea Town]]) and grew to be the second largest Korean business district on the west coast. Since its initial establishment, the Korean American population has expanded to other nearby cities like Fullerton and Irvine, but it claims to have the oldest "Little Seoul" in Orange County.