La Puente, California
| La Puente, California | ||
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| City | ||
| City of La Puente | ||
La Puente's Star Theater in May 2008
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| Motto: Where the Past Meets the Future | ||
 Location of La Puente in Los Angeles County, California |
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 La Puente, California
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| Coordinates: 34°1′57″N 117°57′19″W / 34.03250°N 117.95528°WCoordinates: 34°1′57″N 117°57′19″W / 34.03250°N 117.95528°W | ||
| Country |  United States of America |
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| State |
 California
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| County |
 Los Angeles
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| Incorporated | August 1, 1956 | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor | Violeta Lewis | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 3.480 sq mi (9.012 km2) | |
| • Land | 3.479 sq mi (9.010 km2) | |
| • Water | 0.001 sq mi (0.002 km2) 0.02% | |
| Elevation | 351 ft (107 m) | |
| Population (2010) | ||
| • Total | 39,816 | |
| • Density | 11,000/sq mi (4,400/km2) | |
| Time zone | PST (UTC-8) | |
| • Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC-7) | |
| ZIP codes | 91744-91749 | |
| Area code | 626 | |
| FIPS code | 06-40340 | |
| GNIS feature IDs | 1660865, 2411581 | |
| City flower | Golden hibiscus | |
| City colors | Green and white | |
| Website | www |
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La Puente is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 39,816 at the 2010 census. The city lies approximately 20 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.
The original inhabitants of the area now occupied by the city of La Puente were the Tongva. They lived in a village called Awingna, which linguists translate as "abiding place." The Awingna chief Matheo (who also held sway over several other nearby villages) was baptized at Mission San Gabriel in 1774.
In 1769, the Spanish Portolà expedition became the first Europeans to see inland portions of Alta California. On July 30, the party camped on the east side of the San Gabriel River, in today's unincorporated area of Bassett. Father Juan Crespi wrote in his diary that, the next day, they had to build a bridge (Spanish "puente") to cross the miry San Gabriel River.
With the establishment of Mission San Gabriel, the area encompassing Awingna and what is now the city of La Puente became part of Rancho La Puente, established as a mission outpost and ranch. The rancho was visited by the Jedediah Smith party in November 1826, the first Americans to travel overland to California.
Following secularization of the missions in the 1830s, former mission ranchos passed into private ownership. In 1842, John Rowland and William Workman were granted the 48,000-acre (190 km2) Rancho La Puente. In 1884, the area was named Puente (bridge in Spanish; in old Spanish the noun was often feminine, as opposed to modern Spanish el puente).
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