Editing Walnut, California (section)

==History==
[[File:Ricardo_Vejar_of_Rancho_San_José.jpg|thumb|left|[[Californio]] ranchero [[Ricardo Vejar]] owned both [[Rancho Los Nogales]] and part of [[Rancho San José (Palomares)|Rancho San José]], which make up modern-day Walnut.]]
The area are the traditional lands of the [[Tongva people]]. Spanish missionaries who arrived in the 18th century called the indigenes ''Gabrieleño'', because the area where they lived was controlled by the [[San Gabriel Mission]]. The Walnut area was part of the network of outlying ranches used for the grazing of cattle and sheep by the Mission.<ref>{{cite book|title=Walnut| isbn=9780738595474 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4mbjeppfwwYC&q=images+of+america+california| year=2012 | publisher=Arcadia }}</ref>

Following [[secularization]] of the missions in the 1830s, former mission lands were divided into ''[[Ranchos of California|ranchos]]'', and given away as land grants by the Mexican government of [[Alta California]]. In the Walnut area, the first grants were [[Rancho San Jose (Palomares)|Rancho San Jose]] (granted to [[Ricardo Vejar]] and [[Ygnacio Palomares]] in 1837); [[Rancho Los Nogales]] (granted to Jose De La Cruz Linares in 1840); and [[Rancho La Puente]] (granted to [[John A. Rowland|John Rowland]] and [[Workman-Temple family|William Workman]] in 1842). In 1868, John Rowland and William Workman divided Rancho La Puente, leaving Rowland the eastern half and Workman the western half. Rowland's land included the western portion of Walnut and the adjacent community now called [[Rowland Heights]]. The land was used mainly for raising cattle and growing wheat, grapes, and fruit trees (mostly citrus).

In 1895, the first U.S. post office was established and given the name "Lemon". In 1908, the post office name was changed to Walnut.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gudde |first=Erwin G. |date=1969 |title=California Place Names |url=https://archive.org/details/californiaplacen0000gudd |url-access=registration |location=Berkeley |publisher=UC Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/californiaplacen0000gudd/page/176 176] |isbn=978-0520015746}}</ref> As a reminder of those early days, the U.S. Post Office is on Lemon Avenue, one of the town's main streets.

The City of Walnut's Bicentennial Commission selected the construction of Lemon Creek Park and the restoration of the William R. Rowland Adobe Redwood Ranch House as Walnut's bicentennial project. In 1872, the Lemon Creek Park area became the property of Sheriff William Rowland, who inherited the {{convert|29000|acre|km2|-1|adj=on}} ranch from his father, John Rowland. The modest structure built in 1883 served as the home of Mr. Meridith, [[ranch foreman]] for William Rowland. The adobe redwood ranch house is one of the few remaining original ranch style redwood and adobe structures in the area. On October 1, 1975, the State Landmark Committee placed the W.R. Rowland ranch house in the [[National Register of Historic Places|National Registry of Historical Places]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}}