La Habra, California, United States

🇺🇸 La Habra is a city in the north-western corner of Orange County, California, United States. A related city, La Habra Heights, is located to the north of La Habra, and is in Los Angeles County.

History La Habra was founded in 1896. The first post office in the town was established in 1898 in a corner of Coy's Store at Central (now La Habra Boulevard) and Euclid Street.

The city was incorporated under general law on January 20, 1925, with a population of 3,000. The police force was organized in 1926 and employed a chief, traffic officer and patrolman. By 1928, the city was the largest avocado centre in Southern California. In 1930, the first fire department building was constructed followed by the original City Hall in 1935. By 1950, the population reached nearly 5,000. The Civic Center took shape when the existing County Library was dedicated in 1966, followed by the present administration building in 1969.

For more than 70 years, La Habra was known as the city just south of La Habra Heights, where the 'Hass' avacado, of the 'Hass' avocado mother tree, was planted by Rudolph Hass in the 1920s. The fruit from this tree has since become one of the most popular avocado cultivars worldwide. The 'Hass' mother tree succumbed to root rot in 2002.

The La Habra Stakes, run since 1973 at the Santa Anita Park Thoroughbred race track, is named for La Habra. Although La Habra lies within Orange County, the city contracts with the Los Angeles County Fire Department for EMS and fire protection.

Law enforcement is provided by the La Habra Police Department, which in 2008 employed about 70 officers. From 2004 to 2008, they ranked third in the number of officer-involved shootings among twenty Orange County municipal police departments. One case among these, the 2007 death of Michael Cho, resulted in a wrongful death lawsuit against the city which was settled in September 2010 for $250,000.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.4 square miles (19 km²), with 0.08% covered by water.

It is bordered by La Habra Heights on the north, Brea on the east, Fullerton on the south and south-east, La Mirada on the west and south-west, East Whittier on the west, Whittier on the north-west, and a small unnamed section of unincorporated Los Angeles County on the northeast.

Top employers Among the top employers in the city include: CVS/pharmacy, Wal-Mart, City of La Habra, Target, Costco, La Habra Bakery, Kohl's, The Home Depot, La Habra Convalescent Hospital, Lowe's, VIP Rubber.

Transportation Though La Habra has no freeways and three California state highways; SR 39 (covers Whittier and Beach Boulevards), SR 90 (Imperial Highway), and SR 72 (Whittier Boulevard) serve the city. The four major thoroughfares include Whittier Boulevard, Beach Boulevard, Imperial Highway, and Harbor Boulevard. Idaho Street, Euclid Street, and Palm Street are local north–south arterials and La Habra Boulevard and Lambert Road are local west–east arterials.