Editing West Covina, California (section)

==History==
The [[Tongva]] were the earliest inhabitants of the San Gabriel Valley.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CeNxCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA139 | title=Best Bike Rides Los Angeles: The Greatest Recreational Rides in the Metro Area | isbn=9781493014712 | last1=Cottrell | first1=Wayne D. | date=June 2015 | publisher=Rowman & Littlefield }}</ref>
Governor [[Pío Pico]] sold much of the land of West Covina to John Rowland and William Workman in 1845.<ref>[https://townsquarepublications.com/history-of-west-covina-ca/#:~:text=The%20city%20of%20West%20Covina,not%20unique%20to%20West%20Covina. History of West Covina]</ref>

The first permanent settlers arrived in West Covina in 1905. Most famous among them were William Payne, Bob Dancer, Bender, Robinson and Larsen. They cleared the land of sagebrush and cactus. They also planted the first walnut trees in the area.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hQ1VAwAAQBAJ&dq=west+covina+++P%C3%ADo+Pico&pg=PT268 | title=Fundamentally Crazy | isbn=9781257905300 | last1=Cheldin | first1=Ted | date=August 2011 | publisher=Lulu.com }}</ref>

West Covina was incorporated as an independent city in 1923 to prevent the city of [[Covina, California|Covina]] from building a sewage farm in the area.<ref name=historical>{{Cite web |title=Historical West Covina {{!}} City of West Covina |url=https://www.westcovina.org/about-the-city/history |access-date=October 6, 2022 |website=www.westcovina.org |language=en}}</ref> Benjamin Franklin Maxson Jr. (1897–1928) initiated the incorporation process and was the first mayor. Walnut groves and orange groves continued to flourish.<ref name=historical /> The population in 1930 was 769 and blossomed to 1,549 in 1940. As a result of remarkable expansion during the post–World War II building boom, West Covina became one of the fastest-growing U.S. cities between 1950 and 1960, experiencing a growth in population of 1,025.69%, going from less than 5,000 to more than 50,000 citizens. The decades 1960 and 2000 demonstrated steady growth for West Covina, which had slowed significantly by the time of the 2010 census.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westcovina.org/about-the-city/history/west-covina-growth|title=West Covina Growth}}</ref>

A 2020 ranking of the fiscal health of California cities issued by State Auditor Elaine Howle's office placed West Covina as the ninth-worst in the state <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sgvtribune.com/2020/11/18/state-auditor-releases-updated-rankings-of-california-cities-fiscal-health/|title = State auditor releases updated rankings of California cities' fiscal health|date = November 19, 2020}}</ref> The city was also audited by the state the same year, as the state auditor had determined that the city's poor finances put it at high risk for default.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.auditor.ca.gov/reports/scope/2020-806 |title=California State Auditor - 2020-806 Audit Scope and Objectives |website=www.auditor.ca.gov |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813221653/https://www.auditor.ca.gov/reports/scope/2020-806 |archive-date=August 13, 2020}}</ref>

The world's largest collection of shoehorns is housed in the Shoehorn Museum in West Covina. [https://www.shoehornmuseum.org]  The state of California's largest hazardous waste landfill is also in the city.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jobst |first=Brian |title=The Strange Saga of California' Largest Toxic Landfill |date=July 1, 2024 |publisher=Historical Society of West Covina |isbn=9781955934411 |edition=1st |location=West Covina, CA |language=en}}</ref>  The California Department of Toxic Substances Control currently estimates clean up of the landfill will cost nearly $1 billion. <ref>https://dtsc.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2021/03/FINAL-Cost-Estimate-Fact-Sheet-KS-23Feb2021-022521.SM_JW03152021B-434comp.pdf] {{Webarchive|url= http://web.archive.org/web/20250310053141/https://dtsc.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2021/03/FINAL-Cost-Estimate-Fact-Sheet-KS-23Feb2021-022521.SM_JW03152021B-434comp.pdf|date=March 10, 2025}}</ref>