Azusa - A Place of Artifacts and Wildlife
Founded in 1887 and incorporated as a general law city on December 29, 1898, the city of Azusa is nestled against the San Gabriel Mountain foothills in the county of Los Angeles, California.
The first recorded reference to Azusa was found in the diary of Fr. Juan Crespi, diarist and engineer with Portola Expedition in 1769, then on its way northward from San Diego in search of Monterey Bay. He referred to this area as The Azusa in his diary. Here roamed the Shoshonean Indian, locally known as the Gabrieleno when the area of Azusa was first inhabited by white emigrants and homesteaders. Their community was known as Asuksa-nga. Supposedly, Azusa was derived from the Indian name.
In 1844, Henry Dalton, an Englishman who acquired his wealth in buying and shipping goods to California, purchased land from Luis Arenas and changed the name to Azusa Rancho de Dalton. Azusa Rancho de Dalton was divided up by the federal government for homesteading in 1860 and homesteaders began streaming into the area. Dalton battled the government for 24 years to get the land back and defeated and broke, in 1880 turned what was left of Azusa Rancho over to the local banker, a man named Slauson. In 1887, Slauson divided Azusa into lots for sale. When the streets were being graded, there were unearthed many Indian mortars. Artifacts that have been found over the years are being displayed this summer in our local library.
Today, Azusa is a place of rugged Mountains and foothills that form a spectacular backdrop to a community where people have lived for more than 6,000 years. The undeveloped areas of river flood plain create corridors of wetlands for wildlife, fish, including steelhead trout. Tributary streams are lined with willow, cottonwood, sycamore and alders. Higher up are mountain forests, home to bobcats, mountain lions and bears. This not only provides a diverse and spectacular back drop to the city, but a destination for recreation, mountain biking, hiking and fishing. We encourage you to come and experience the history and beauty of our city for yourselves.
Source: City of Azusa
