Editing Glendora, California (section)

=== Founding and modern development (1887–present) ===

Like many cities in the San Gabriel Valley, Glendora was established on previously remote agricultural land during the [[Southern California real estate boom of the 1880s]]. Real estate values rose especially quickly in areas connected to the outside world upon the completion of the [[Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Railroad]] in May 1887, later purchased by the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway|Santa Fe Railway]], connecting Los Angeles to Chicago. Located at the foot of the [[San Gabriel Mountains]], Glendora was started on approximately {{convert|300| acres}} that were subdivided for sale by [[George Dexter Whitcomb|George D. Whitcomb]] in late March 1887. On the first day of sale, April 1, 1887,<ref>{{cite book|last1= Glendora Historic Preservation Committee |title=Glendora's Historic Core: A Walking Tour|date=|publisher=City of Glendora|location=Glendora, California|page=8|url=https://www.glendorahistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Glendora-WalkingTour.pdf|access-date=September 7, 2024}}</ref> 300 lots were sold.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Guinn|first1=James Miller|title=A History of California and an Extended History of Its Southern Coast Counties: Also Containing Biographies of Well-known Citizens of the Past and Present, Volume 1|date=1907|publisher=Historic Record Company|location=Los Angeles, California|page=392|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RMxQAQAAIAAJ&q=glendora+santa+fe+railroad+1887&pg=PA392|access-date=December 4, 2017}}</ref> Later that month, the Suydam family built the first building erected after Glendora officially became a town – a barn at 645 N Vista Bonita Avenue, which served as their home until their house was completed in October.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bohem |first1=Hilda |date= December 1984 |title= Nellie Suydam of Glendora: Diary of an Ordinary Woman |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41171121 |journal=Southern California Quarterly. |volume=66 |issue=4 |pages=335–344 |doi=10.2307/41171121 |jstor=41171121 |access-date=September 7, 2024 }}</ref>

Whitcomb was the founder of the [[Whitcomb Locomotive Works]] in [[Chicago]] and [[Rochelle, Illinois]] and had moved to California in the early 1880s. He devised the name ''Glendora'' by combining the name of his wife, Leadora Bennett Whitcomb (1839–1929), with the location of his home in a [[glen]] of the San Gabriel Mountains. In December 1907, the development of Glendora got a boost when passenger service opened on a new extension of the [[Pacific Electric|Pacific Electric Railway's]] [[Monrovia–Glendora Line]] which provided hourly, direct service from downtown Glendora to the [[Pacific Electric Building]] at Sixth and Main in [[Downtown Los Angeles]]. Prior to its 1911 incorporation, Glendora's administrator officially occupied the office of President of Glendora.

Glendora experienced significant growth during Southern California’s citrus boom in the early 20th century, becoming a thriving hub for citrus production. At its peak in 1947, the local citrus industry encompassed over 5,000 acres of orange and lemon orchards, supported by six [[packing house|packing houses]] processing approximately 78,000 tons of fruit annually, valued between $4 million and $8 million (roughly $60-120 million in 2025 dollars).<ref>{{cite news|last=Van Derbeken|first=Jaxon|title=Petitioners Seek to Save Glendora’s Orange Trees|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=January 4, 1987|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-02-19-ga-4251-story.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250318081142/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-02-19-ga-4251-story.html|archive-date=March 18, 2025|access-date=March 18, 2025}}</ref>

The downtown area as it appears now is the product of years of renovation and maintenance by the city. The former opera house, movie theatre, Pacific Electric station, banks, hotels, grocery and department stores were converted for modern uses. The original layout can be read about on the Downtown Glendora Historical Walk, by reading placards placed along Glendora Avenue (previously called Michigan Avenue). The original townsite was bounded by Sierra Madre Avenue on the north, Minnesota Avenue on the east, Ada Avenue and the railroad on the south, and Pennsylvania Avenue on the west.

Glendora used to be home to several military academies, which have since been converted into either churches or private school facilities. These academies included Brown Military Academy,<ref>{{cite web |title=Brown Military Academy – John Brown University |url=http://www.brownmilitaryacademy.com/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220114221128/https://www.jbu.edu/brown-military-academy/ |archive-date=January 14, 2022 |website=John Brown University |publisher=brownmilitaryacademy.com}}</ref> now St. Lucy's Priory High School and Church of the Open Door on Sierra Madre, and Harding Military Academy,<ref>{{cite web |last=Lodevico-To'o |first=Hazel |date=July 6, 2011 |title=July 6, 1972: Harding Military Academy Closes its Doors |url=http://glendora.patch.com/groups/around-town/p/july-6-1972-harding-military-academy-closes-its-doors |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409070536/http://patch.com/california/glendora/july-6-1972-harding-military-academy-closes-its-doors |archive-date=April 9, 2016 |work=Glendora, California Patch}}</ref> whose property is now home to North Glendora Private, a prestigious private community adjacent to Easley Canyon atop Glendora Avenue.

From 1960 to 1978, Glendora was home to [[Clokey Productions]] which produced 85 episodes of [[Gumby]] and 65 episodes of [[Davey and Goliath]] in town.<ref>{{cite web |title=Gumby's Studio, Clokey Productions |url=http://www.gumbyworld.com/gumbys-studio/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221129141100/https://www.gumbyworld.com/gumbys-studio/ |archive-date=November 29, 2022 |website=Gumby World}}</ref> In celebration of this history, Glendora hosted the first Gumby Fest in 2014 which brought thousands of people from around the country and Canada. In 2015 the 2nd GumbyFest<ref>{{cite web |title=Gumby Fest 2015: Citrus College, Glendora, CA USA |url=http://gumbyfest.net/ |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150901194228/http://www.gumbyfest.net/ |archive-date=September 1, 2015 |work=gumbyfest.net}}</ref> was held at [[Citrus College]] over an entire weekend.

Several wildfires have affected the city in recent years, the most notable being the campfire triggered [[Colby Fire]], which displaced hundreds of Glendora residents. A relief concert titled "Glendora Band Aid"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rotaryofglendora.org/bandaid.html|title=Colby Fire Relief Music Festival: March 22, 2014|work=rotaryofglendora.org}}{{Dead link|date=August 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> was held shortly after the fire to help raise funds to assist the homeowners who lost their homes in the fire.

Glendora has an active Chamber of Commerce,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://glendora-chamber.org|title=Glendora Chamber of Commerce|work=glendora-chamber.org}}</ref> established in 1903. The mission of the Glendora Chamber is to provide tools and resources to assist the business community in prospering and adapting to the economic climate, while growing membership and promoting [[local purchasing]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Glendora Chamber of Commerce |url=http://glendora-chamber.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230413080142/https://www.glendora-chamber.org/ |archive-date=April 13, 2023 |access-date=March 24, 2015 |website=Glendora Chamber of Commerce}}</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="160px">
File:Glendora-1920.jpg|Glendora, 1920.
File:Early Alosta-Glendora Map.jpg|Early [[Alosta]]-Glendora Map 1888. View looking north from present-day South Hills Park Wilderness Area
File:Glendora_in_2017.jpg|Present day view from the South Hills
</gallery>