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Compton, CA

City of Compton
Charter city
Compton martin luther king monument.jpg HSY- Los Angeles Metro, Compton, Platform View.jpg
Compton High School billboard.jpg Entering compton.jpg
Clockwise from top: King Memorial, Compton train platform, Compton obelisk, Compton High School
Official seal of City of Compton
Seal
Nickname(s): Hub City
Motto: Birthing a New Compton
Location of Compton in Los Angeles County, California
Location of Compton in Los Angeles County, California
City of Compton is located in the US
City of Compton
City of Compton
Location in the United States
Coordinates: 33°53′48″N 118°13′30″W / 33.89667°N 118.22500°W / 33.89667; -118.22500Coordinates: 33°53′48″N 118°13′30″W / 33.89667°N 118.22500°W / 33.89667; -118.22500
Country United States
State California
County Los Angeles
Incorporated May 11, 1888
Government
 • Type Council-Manager
 • City council Mayor: Aja Brown
Janna Zurita
Isaac Galvan
Tana McCoy
Emma Sharif
 • City manager Rodger L. Haley
 • City attorney Craig J. Cornwell
 • City treasurer Douglas Sanders
 • City clerk Alita Godwin
Area
 • Total 10.116 sq mi (26.202 km2)
 • Land 10.012 sq mi (25.932 km2)
 • Water 0.104 sq mi (0.270 km2)  1.03%
Elevation 69 ft (21 m)
Population (April 1, 2010)
 • Total 96,455
 • Estimate (2013) 97,877
 • Density 9,500/sq mi (3,700/km2)
Time zone Pacific (UTC−8)
 • Summer (DST) PDT (UTC−7)
ZIP codes 90220–90224
Area codes 310/424
FIPS code 06-15044
GNIS feature IDs 1652689, 2410213
Website www.comptoncity.org

Compton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city to incorporate. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 96,455. It is known as the "Hub City" due to its geographic centrality in Los Angeles County. Neighborhoods in Compton include Sunny Cove, Leland, Downtown Compton, and Richland Farms. The city is generally a working class city with some middle-class neighborhoods, and is home to a relatively young community, at an average 25 years of age, compared to the American median age of 35 (2010 data).

In 1784, the Spanish Crown deeded a tract of over 75,000 acres (300 km2) to Juan Jose Dominguez in this area. The tract was named Rancho San Pedro. Dominguez's name was later applied to the Dominguez Hills community south of Compton. The tree that marked the original northern boundary of the rancho still stands at the corner of Poppy and Short streets. The rancho was subdivided and parcels were sold within the Californios of Alta California until the lands were ceded after the Mexican-American war in 1848. American immigrants acquired most of the rancho lands after 1848.

In 1867, Griffith Dickenson Compton led a group of 30 pioneers to the area. These families had traveled by wagon train south from in search of ways to earn a living other than in the rapid exhaustion of gold fields. Originally named Gibsonville, after one of the tract owners, it was later called Comptonville. However, to avoid confusion with the Comptonville located in Yuba County, the name was shortened to Compton. Compton's earliest settlers were faced with terrible hardships as they farmed the land in bleak weather to get by with just the barest subsistence. The weather continued to be harsh, rainy and cold, and fuel was difficult to find. To gather firewood it was necessary to travel to mountains close to Pasadena. The round trip took almost a week. Many in the Compton party wanted to relocate to a friendlier climate and settle down, but as there were two general stores within traveling distance—one in the pueblo of Los Angeles, the other in Wilmington—they eventually decided to stay put.


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