On March 10, 1933, a devastating earthquake took lives, toppled schools and caused major damage to the main business district. Voters approved adoption of a new municipal charter, which provided for the city manager form of government.Ĭitizens celebrated opening of the Compton Airport.Ĭity administration moved to a new City Hall located at 600 N. The new city, with a population of 500 people, held its first City Council meeting on in the home of William H. The City of Compton was officially incorporated on May 11, 1888. Palmer and Randolph Sherer as members of the first City Council.The area to be incorporated included all the land one mile east and west of Wilmington Avenue (now Willowbrook Avenue), and from Greenleaf on the south to a quarter mile north of Rosecrans. In January 1888, they forwarded a petition supporting the incorporation of Compton to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, who in turn forwarded the petition to the State Legislature.
#Compton place series
They held a series of town meetings to discuss the possibility of incorporation. However, to avoid confusion with the Comptonville located in Yuba County, the name was shortened to Compton.īy 1887, the settlers felt the need for improved local government. Originally named Gibsonville, after one of the tract owners, it was later called Comptonville. The settlement became known as Compton in 1869. They built a schoolhouse, which also served as a church and a center for civic gatherings. Both were miles away and required a lengthy trek either by foot or horseback.ĭespite hardships, by the end of 1868 the settlers began to look to the future. Also, in the early years there were only two general stores in the area: one in the pueblo of Los Angeles, the other in Wilmington. Gathering firewood required a three day-trip to the mountains near Pasadena. The weather was cold and wet, and fuel was scarce. Gibson for five dollars an acre had originally been the northeast portion of the territory known as Rancho San Pedro, which was granted to Juan Jose Dominguez by the Spanish Crown.Ĭompton’s early settlers faced severe hardship as they tilled the earth to scratch out a meager existence. The 4,600 acres of land that they purchased from F.P.F. In the end, however, the families decided to stay, and they immediately began to purchase blocks of land in the Temple and Gibson Tract.
Confronted with such powerful forces of nature, many in the Compton party considered trying to find a more suitable location to set down roots. The rising waters forced the Compton party to take to high ground. These families had wagon-trained south from Stockton, California in search of ways to earn a living other than in the rapidly depleting gold fields.Ĭold, heavy rains greeted the settlers soon after their arrival, and a devastating flood threatened to wipe out the community before it even got started. The territory was settled in 1867 by a band of 30 pioneering families, who were led to the area by Griffith Dickenson Compton. Known as the Hub City because of its location in nearly the exact geographical center of Los Angeles County, the City of Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and the eighth to incorporate.
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