Editing Montebello, California (section)

==History ==
Historic occupants of the land along the [[Rio Hondo (California)|Rio Hondo River]] were the indigenous [[Tongva]] (also known as Gabrielino), a portion of the [[Uto-Aztecan languages|Uto-Aztecan]] family of [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]]. The Tongva occupied much of the Los Angeles basin and the southern Channel Islands - [[Santa Catalina Island (California)|Santa Catalina]], [[San Nicolas Island|San Nicolas]], [[San Clemente Island|San Clemente]] and [[Santa Barbara Island|Santa Barbara]].

When the explorer [[Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo]] arrived off the shores of Santa Catalina in 1542, he was met by the Tongva people. Because the language of the Tongva was different from the neighboring tribes, the Spanish called them ''"Gabrielino"''. As more non-natives arrived and established settlements, diseases that were endemic among them caused high mortality among the Tongva and other indigenous peoples. These were new infectious diseases to them. By 1870, the area had few remaining [[Aboriginal people|indigenous]] inhabitants.<ref name="Fred">{{cite web |url=http://www.datarecoverypomona.com/data-recovery-montebello.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708233600/http://www.datarecoverypomona.com/data-recovery-montebello.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 8, 2011 |title=Data Recovery Montebello California (CA) - Data Retrieval Montebello California (CA) - Data Restoration Montebello California (CA) |website=Datarecoverypomona.com |date=October 19, 1920 |access-date=March 26, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://archive.org/details/spanishexplorati0000unse_q3y0/page/18/mode/2up |title=Spanish exploration in the Southwest, 1542-1706 |date=1908 |publisher=New York : Barnes & Noble |others=Internet Archive |editor-last=Bolton |editor-first=Herbert Eugene |pages=13-20 |chapter=The "Relation of the Voyage of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, 1542-1543}}</ref>

Father Angel Somera and Father Pedro Cambon, both Franciscan missionaries, founded the original [[Mission San Gabriel Arcángel]], called [[Mission Vieja]], on September 8, 1771.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Engelhardt |first=Zephyrin |url=https://archive.org/details/sangabrielmissio0000zeph/page/n9/mode/2up |title=San Gabriel Mission and the  Beginning of los  angeles |date=1927 |publisher=Mission San Gabriel |others=Internet Archive |pages=3-21}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hackel |first=Steven W. |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Junipero_Serra.html?id=5csMGaP36FQC |title=Junipero Serra: California's Founding Father |date=2013-09-03 |publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux |isbn=978-0-374-71109-2 |pages=182-183 |language=en}}</ref> Today the site is near the intersection of San Gabriel Boulevard and the Rio Hondo River. The establishment of this mission marked the beginning of settlement by Spaniards in the Los Angeles region; it was the fourth of twenty-one<ref name="cityofmontebello1">{{cite web|url=http://www.cityofmontebello.com/about/history_/default.asp |title=History |publisher=City of Montebello |date=October 19, 1920 |access-date=August 3, 2010}}</ref>  missions that they ultimately established along California's [[El Camino Real (California)|El Camino Real]]. The mission did well initially as a farm and cattle ranch.

Six years after its founding, however, a destructive flood led the mission fathers to relocate the mission farther north, to its current location in what is the present day city of [[San Gabriel, California|San Gabriel]]. The original mission site is [[California Historical Landmark]] #161.<ref>{{cite web | title =Los Angeles | work =California Historical Landmarks  | publisher =California Department of Parks & Recreation Office of Historic Preservation | year =2004 | url =http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=21427 | access-date =July 30, 2007}}</ref>

During the early years of the mission's operations, the region was managed by Spanish colonists who had a "Rancho" land grant system.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://lib.berkeley.edu/EART/rancho.html |title=Ranchos of California |access-date=January 4, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426091322/https://lib.berkeley.edu/EART/rancho.html |archive-date=April 26, 2012  }}</ref>  The current city of Montebello consists of land from [[Rancho San Antonio (Lugo)|Rancho San Antonio]], [[Rancho La Merced]], and [[Rancho Paso de Bartolo]]. The Juan Matias Sanchez Adobe, built in 1844, still stands at the center of old Rancho la Merced in East Montebello. Rancho la Merced is the city's oldest standing structure.<ref name="History"/>
[[File:Battle of Río San Gabriel.jpg|thumb|left|The 1847 [[Battle of Río San Gabriel]] was a decisive victory of American forces against the [[Californios]] during the [[conquest of California|U.S. conquest of California]].]]
[[File:CHL- 385 - Rio San Gabriel Battlefield (4430196506).jpg|thumb|left|[[Battle of Río San Gabriel]] cannons and memorial in Montebello.]]
On January 8, 1847, the [[Battle of Río San Gabriel]] took place in what are today parts of the cities of Whittier, Pico Rivera and Montebello. The battle was a decisive, critical victory for the [[U.S. Army]] in the [[Mexican–American War]]. The United States took control of Los Angeles and Alta California. Today, the site is noted as California State Historical Landmark #385. Two cannons and a plaque commemorating the battle were installed overlooking the river at Bluff Road and Washington Boulevard.<ref>{{cite book | author=Bauer, K. Jack  | title=The Mexican War, 1846–1848 | publisher=Macmillan | location=New York | year=1974 | isbn=978-0-8032-6107-5}}</ref>

Following the [[American Civil War]], some {{convert|5000|acre|abbr=on}} of the [[Eastside Los Angeles|East Los Angeles area]] was owned by Alessandro Repetto, an Italian immigrant from [[Genoa]], [[Italy]]. Following Repetto's death in 1885, his brother sold his rancho to a consortium of five Los Angeles businessmen, including banker [[Isaias W. Hellman]] and wholesale grocer/historian [[Harris Newmark]], for $60,000, or approximately $12 per acre.<ref name="cityofmontebello1"/>  The land was later divided among the partners, one large parcel of approximately {{convert|2000|acre|abbr=on}} going to a partnership of Newmark and his nephew, banker Kaspare Cohn.

The city of Montebello was developed in May 1899 from the Newmark and Cohn share of {{convert|1200|acre|abbr=on}}. After the partners received the advice of [[hydraulic engineer]] [[William Mulholland]] for the design and building of the town's water system, they subdivided the land. In 1900 the completed water system was incorporated as the Montebello Land and Water Company.<ref>{{cite web | title =Sixty years in Southern California, 1853–1913, containing the reminiscences of Harris Newmark | work =American Memory | publisher =Library of Congress | url =http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/calbk:@field(DOCID+@lit(calbk023div45)) | access-date =July 30, 2007}}</ref>

An area of {{convert|200|acre|abbr=on}} adjacent to the tracks of what was formerly the [[Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad|San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad]] was developed into a townsite called Newmark. It was bounded by Los Angeles Avenue on the south, 1st Street on the east, Cleveland Avenue on the north, and 5th Street on the west. The remainder of the land was subdivided into {{convert|5|acre|abbr=on}} lots suitable for small-scale agriculture. On [[William Mulholland]]'s suggestion, leaders of the city adopted Montebello as the name in 1920, replacing Newmark.<ref>{{cite news | last =Rasmussen | first =Cecilia | title =City names stem from trees, ranches - even a goddess | work =Los Angeles Times | pages =B2 | date =July 29, 2007}}</ref>

Originally an agricultural community, the city was known for its prolific production of flowers, berries, fruits, and vegetables. The first public flower show in 1912 was sponsored by the Montebello Women's Club and held in the [[Montebello High School]] auditorium on Whittier Boulevard.<ref name="cityofmontebello1"/>  The Montebello – El Carmel (South Montebello) Improvement Association, the predecessor of the Montebello Chamber of Commerce, operated from September 1907 to April 1912, with the purpose "to improve and beautify the community." Some of its early achievements included: paving Whittier Boulevard, having trees planted along the streets, establishing the city's first high school, and having the entire area incorporated as "The City of Montebello".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.montebellochamber.org/History.aspx |title=Chamber History |website=Montebellochamber.org |access-date=August 3, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101113105038/http://www.montebellochamber.org/History.aspx |archive-date=November 13, 2010 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>

On October 16, 1920, the city was incorporated. In honor of Montebello's agricultural roots, the city's official seal contains a red poinsettia in the center.<ref name="cityofmontebello1"/> In the first half of the 20th century, much of south Montebello was populated by Japanese-American farmers. During World War II, most were [[Internment of Japanese Americans|interned hundreds of miles away at camps]] in harsh areas under direction by President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] by [[Executive Order 9066]]. Many of the displaced residents were unable to return to their homes; survivors and their descendants did not receive an official apology or compensation until the late 20th century. The family of M's Flowers can trace their history and participation in the growth of the flower industry, largely through their efforts.

The [[Standard Oil Company]] discovered oil in the Montebello hills in 1917 on the Baldwin and Temple properties; this discovery changed the face of the city.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cityofmontebello.com/about/history_/|title=Home - City of Montebello|website=Cityofmontebello.com|access-date=November 9, 2017}}</ref> Oil fields replaced agriculture. Eventually, the oil pumped from this find produced one-eighth of the crude oil in California.<ref name="MTB1">{{cite web|url=http://www.streetgangs.com/hispanic/montebello |title=Montebello, California – Hispanic Gangs &#124; Street Gangs Resource Center |website=Streetgangs.com |access-date=March 26, 2013}}</ref> Over the course of sixty years, the Montebello hills were filled with producing oil wells.<ref name="cityofmontebello1"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mkhs.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=62613&type=d |title=Mark Keppel High School |website=Mkhs.org |date=December 19, 1938 |access-date=March 26, 2013}}</ref>

On March 22, 2023, a high-end EF1 tornado struck the city, damaging 17 structures and injuring one person. According to the National Weather Service, it was the strongest tornado to hit the LA Metro area since [[1983 South Central Los Angeles tornado|March 1983]].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Kiszla |first1=Cameron |last2=Von Quednow |first2=Cindy |last3=Sternfield |first3=Marc |last4=Wynter |first4=Kareen |last5=McDade |first5=Mary Beth |last6=Herrera |first6=Carlos |date=March 22, 2023 |title=Montebello tornado was an EF1, touched down for 2 to 3 minutes, NWS says |url=https://ktla.com/news/local-news/montebello-california-tornado/ |access-date=April 3, 2023 |work=KTLA |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Public Information Statement |url=https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/wx/afos/p.php?pil=PNSLOX&e=202303230405 |website=mesonet.agron.iastate.edu |access-date=March 22, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://ktla.com/news/local-news/montebello-california-tornado/ |title='Craziest thing I've ever seen': Tornado damages buildings in Montebello |last=Kiszla |first=Cameron |date=March 22, 2023 |website=ktla.com |publisher=KTLA |access-date=March 23, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media |date=March 23, 2023 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JAJlaZRgLQ |title=Witnesses detail moments tornado swept through Montebello |publisher=[[KCAL News]] |via=[[YouTube]] |access-date=March 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230323034811/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JAJlaZRgLQ |archive-date=March 23, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>