Lake Forest, California
| Lake Forest, California | ||
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| City | ||
| City of Lake Forest | ||
Aerial view of Lake Forest
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 Location of Lake Forest within Orange County, California. |
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 Lake Forest, California
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| Coordinates: 33°38′30″N 117°41′27″W / 33.64167°N 117.69083°WCoordinates: 33°38′30″N 117°41′27″W / 33.64167°N 117.69083°W | ||
| Country |
 United States |
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| State |
 California
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| County |
 Orange
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| Incorporated | December 20, 1991 | |
| Government | ||
| • Type | Council-manager | |
| • Mayor | Andrew Hamilton | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 17.902 sq mi (46.366 km2) | |
| • Land | 17.816 sq mi (46.143 km2) | |
| • Water | 0.086 sq mi (0.223 km2) 0.48% | |
| Elevation | 489 ft (148 m) | |
| Population (2010) | ||
| • Total | 77,264 | |
| • Density | 4,300/sq mi (1,700/km2) | |
| Time zone | PST (UTC-8) | |
| • Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC-7) | |
| ZIP codes | 92609, 92610, 92630, 92679 | |
| Area code(s) | 949 | |
| FIPS code | 06-39496 | |
| GNIS feature IDs | 1656503, 2411602 | |
| Website | www |
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Lake Forest is a city in Orange County, California. The population was 77,264 at the 2010 census.
Lake Forest incorporated as a city on December 20, 1991. Prior to incorporation, the community had been known as El Toro. Following a vote in 2000, Lake Forest expanded its city limits to include the master-planned developments of Foothill Ranch and Portola Hills. This expansion brought new homes and commercial centers to the Northeastern boundary of the city. Lake Forest (along with its neighboring cities Mission Viejo and Irvine) is ranked as one of the safest cities in the country.
Lake Forest has two lakes from which the city gets its name. The lakes are man-made, and condominiums and custom homes ranging from large to small line their shores. Neighborhood associations manage the lakes. Lake 1, known as the Lake Forest Beach and Tennis Club, and Lake 2, the Sun and Sail Club. Each facility features tennis courts, gyms, basketball courts, barbecue pits, volleyball courts, multiple swimming pools, saunas, hot tubs and club houses for social events.
The "forest" for which the city is also named lies in the area between Ridge Route, Jeronimo, Lake Forest and Serrano roads, and consists mostly of Eucalyptus trees. It is also man-made, and was created in the first decade of the 1900s when a local landowner, Dwight Whiting, planted 400 acres (1.6 km2) of Eucalyptus groves in the vicinity of Serrano Creek as part of a lumber operation intended to draw development to the area. In the late 1960s, the Occidental Petroleum company developed a residential community in and around the Eucalyptus groves, which had long since expanded and grown much more dense.
From 1863, the community had been known as El Toro. In 1874 José Serrano and his family occupied eleven thousand hectares of ranch that had been granted to them by the Government of Mexico, and that eventually reached the hands of Dwight Whiting. Whiting was instrumental in bringing the Santa Fe rail line through the region. The Rancho Niguel was granted to Juan B. Alvarado, Juan Avila and his sister Conception, the widow of one Pedro Sánchez. From them it passed to other owners and was divided into plots, including Yorba. In 1874 most of it was owned by Cyrus B. Rawson. Jonathan E. Bacon also owned 1600 acres. In addition to the Serranos, established in Aliso Canyon, there was a group of pioneers who lived in the foothills and several miles above El Toro, many of whom were among the first settlers of this neighborhood.
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