Editing Rosemead, California (section)

== History ==
Prior to the arrival of the Spanish, the area around Rosemead was populated by [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]] known as the people of the willow houses or better known as the [[Kizh]] (pronounced Keech), alternatively [[Tongva]] or as the Spaniards renamed them, the [[Gabrielino|Gabrieleños]].  In 1771, the Spanish founded the first [[Mission San Gabriel Arcángel]] in the area that was formally known as the village of Shevaangna or Siba what is [first Angeleno William McCawley 1996] now known as La Misión Vieja or Whittier Narrows on the border between [[Montebello, California|Montebello]] and Rosemead. In 1775, the mission  moved to avoid the spring floods that ruined the first crops, to its present location in [[San Gabriel, California|San Gabriel]] formally known as the village of Tovisvanga .<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.californiamissionsonline.com/missions/mission_san_gabriel_arcangel.html|title=Mission San Gabriel Arcangel – History, Photos & Models<!-- Bot generated title -->|access-date=January 10, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150812021744/http://californiamissionsonline.com/missions/mission_san_gabriel_arcangel.html|archive-date=August 12, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

During the [[Spanish Colonial]] era, the area that is now the City of Rosemead was part of the land administered by the [[San Gabriel Mission]].  As part of the Mexican government's [[Mexican secularization act of 1833|Secularization]] Act of 1833, the land, formerly held by the Mission, was distributed to private citizens, requiring only that they build a house and graze cattle, bringing to an end the Mission Era <ref>[http://www.artfact.com/auction-lot/autographs:-the-revolutionary-secularization-act-1-c-u5zxjrqcbj Lot 40: Autographs: The Revolutionary Secularization Act of 1833 Broadside Signed in Type by President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna (CALIFORNIA) Rare Early – Early American | A...<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>  Following the [[Mexican–American War]] and the 1848 signing of the [[Treaty of Guadalupe]] which transferred sovereignty over the territory now known as the State of [[California]] to the United States, Anglo-American immigration began to flow to the area.  The southern part of Rosemead was part of [[Rancho Potrero Grande]] (Large Pasture) which was originally granted to a Native American man named Manuel Antonio,<ref>Ogden Hoffman, 1862, ''Reports of Land Cases Determined in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California'', Numa Hubert, San Francisco</ref> who was a "mayordomo" (overseer) at the San Gabriel Mission.  The {{convert|4431|acre|km2|0|adj=on}} ranch was later transferred to Juan Matias Sánchez.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.juanmatiassanchez.com/|title=Juan Matias Sanchez Southern California Ranchero|website=www.juanmatiassanchez.com}}</ref>

In 1852, John and Harriet Guess  moved cross-country in an ox drawn wagon, to the [[San Gabriel Valley]] from Conway County, Arkansas.<ref name="city">[http://www.cityofrosemead.org/index.aspx?page=196 City of Rosemead : Rosemead History<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>  In 1855, the couple camped where present-day Savannah Elementary School is located on Rio Hondo Avenue. They rented the land until 1867, when John Guess purchased {{convert|100|acre|km2|1}} of a {{convert|1164|acre|km2|0|adj=on}} ranch and named it Savannah. The land stretched from [[Valley Boulevard]] to Marshall Street, and from [[Rosemead Boulevard]] to the [[Eaton Wash]].

Other pioneers, Frank Forst and [[Leonard John Rose]], also settled in this valley. Rose and his wife Amanda bought about {{convert|600|acre|km2|1}} of land between what is now Rosemead Boulevard and Walnut Grove Avenue. Rose bred and trained horses for a living. He named his ranch "Rose's Meadow" which was eventually shortened to   Rosemeade and gave the city its name.<ref name="city" /> Rosemeade  was once again shortened to Rosemead. The  peaceful, pastoral community  flourished with small truck farms and rabbit and chicken farms. Settlers moved in and also raised vegetables, fruits, grain and feed for the animals. It wasn't until August 4, 1959, the citizens elected to incorporate Rosemead into a city.<ref name="city" />
[[File:Rio Hondo at Garvey Avenue.JPG|thumb|250px|left|Entrance to Rosemead on Garvey Avenue over Rio Hondo Bridge]]

=== Rosemead Airport ===
Rosemead Airport is one of the vanished former airports which once were spread all throughout the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Western Air College operated the airport. The airport at this location in Rosemead was apparently built at some point between 1940 and 1942, as it was not depicted on  a 1940 LA street map. The earliest depiction of this airport was on a 1942 street map, which labeled the field as the Western Air College Airport. At some point between 1942 and 1944 the airport was renamed Rosemead, as that is how it was labeled on the 1944 LA Sectional Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of John Voss). A flying school was also operated at Rosemead Airport.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.airfieldsfreeman.com/CA/Airfields_CA_LA_E.htm#rosemead|title=Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: California, East Los Angeles area|website=[[Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields]]}}</ref>

[[Fletcher Aviation]] acquired the airport from the Heasley brothers during the [[Korean War]] and later sold to AJ Industries in the 1960s, AJ immediately sold the portion of the land from Rio Hondo Avenue almost to Rosemead Boulevard to AeroJet Corporation and they built a large facility there. It was named Flair Park and the roadway that parallels [[Interstate 10|I-10]] was named Flair Drive.{{Cn|date=August 2024}}