San Fernando, California, United States

History | Spanish colonial period | Rancho land grant | Incorporation | Geography | Economy : Top employers | Arts and culture | Parks and recreation | Municipal government | Education | Public library | Infrastructure | Police | Fire | Transport

🇺🇸 San Fernando is a city in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It is bordered on all sides by the City of Los Angeles.

History Prior to the arrival of Spanish missionaries and soldiers, the area of San Fernando was in the north-western extent of Tovaangar, or the homelands of the Tongva. The nearby village of Pasheeknga was a major site for the Tongva, being the most populous village in the San Fernando Valley at the time. The homelands of the Tataviam could be found to the north and the Chumash to the west.

Spanish colonial period The Mission San Fernando Rey de España (named after St. Ferdinand) was founded in 1797 at the site of Achooykomenga, an agricultural rancho established by Juan Francisco Reyes for Pueblo de Los Ángeles worked by Ventureño Chumash, Fernandeño (Tongva), and Tataviam laborers.

In 1833, the mission was secularized by the Mexican government. During its time as a mission, 1,367 native children were baptized at San Fernando, of which 965 died in childhood. The high death rate of children and adults at the missions sometimes led those kept at the mission to run away.

Rancho land grant In 1846, the area became part of the Mexican land grant of Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando. In 1874, Charles Maclay, bought 56,000 acres (227 km²) of the Rancho.

In 1882, cousins George K. Porter and Benjamin F. Porter, of future Porter Ranch, each received one-third of the total land. In 1885, Maclay founded the Maclay School of Theology, a Methodist seminary in San Fernando. After his death it became an affiliate and moved to the campus of the University of Southern California and then the Claremont School of Theology.

While most of the towns in the surrounding San Fernando Valley agreed to annexation by Los Angeles in the 1910s, eager to tap the bountiful water supply provided by the newly opened Los Angeles Aqueduct, San Fernando's abundant groundwater supplies allowed it to remain a separate city.

Incorporation In the first half of the 20th century after incorporation in 1911, the city of San Fernando tried to extend its city limits to Sylmar, Mission Hills and Pacoima, but the city of Los Angeles kept up their rapid annexation and caused many failed attempts.

By the 1950s, the city said that annexation was hard to do, due to the large bureaucracy of Los Angeles. As the San Fernando Valley transitioned from an agricultural area to a suburban one in the decades after World War II, San Fernando retained its independence.

As with much of the San Fernando Valley east of the San Diego Freeway, the city of San Fernando has seen a significant demographic shift in recent years. Declining birth-rates and an aging population of middle-class whites, who once dominated the area in the 1950s, has contributed to the movement into other parts of the San Fernando Valley. There has also been movement into the Santa Clarita and Antelope Valleys to the north.

Geography San Fernando is completely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, with the neighborhoods of Sylmar to the north, Lake View Terrace to the east, Pacoima to the south, and Mission Hills to the west. It is served by the Golden State (Interstate 5), Foothill (Interstate 210), Ronald Reagan (State Route 118), and San Diego (Interstate 405) freeways.

Economy: Top employers According to the City of San Fernando’s 2022 annual report, the top ten employers in the city (not including the city itself as an employer) are: 1 Los Angeles Unified School District; 2 Pharmavite LLC; 3 Pepsi Bottling Company; 4 Home Depot; 5 County of Los Angeles; 6 PureTek; 7 Production Resource Group LLC; 8 Northeast Valley Health Group; 9 Vallarta Supermarkets; 10 Ricon Corp.

As of 2021, the City of San Fernando has a total labor force of 11,000 with 3,943 (35.85%) working for the top ten employers listed. The City of San Fernando also employs 132 people as of 2021.

Arts and culture The city hosts public celebrations such as 4 July festivities and summer movie nights in city parks. Mexican-American culture is prevalent and the city hosts Día de los Muertos festivals and community classes teaching "Aztec" and Folklórico dances.

Parks and recreation The San Fernando Recreation and Community Services (RCS) Department maintains multiple parks and recreation centres in the city and provides residents with recreational amenities, programs and services. Various social clubs cater to senior residents providing them with crafting and gardening programs and social events.

Municipal government The City of San Fernando is governed by a city council. Members of the City Council are elected at-large and serve four year terms. The mayor is appointed every year, on a rotating basis, by a majority vote of the council. The Council meets on the first and third Monday of each month at 6:00 pm in the Council Chambers.

Education San Fernando is served by the Los Angeles Unified School District.

San Fernando is served by the following LAUSD schools: • O'Melveny Elementary School • Morningside Elementary School • San Fernando Elementary School • Gridley Elementary School in nearby Sylmar • San Fernando Middle School • San Fernando institute for Applied Media • César Chávez Learning Academies • San Fernando High School • Vaughn International Studies Academy (VISA); Charter School

The nearest community college to San Fernando is Los Angeles Mission College in the Sylmar neighborhood of Los Angeles.

PUC Schools operates some charter schools in San Fernando. They include Nueva Esperanza Charter Academy (MS and HS) and PUC Inspire Charter Academy. At one time Lakeview Charter Academy and Triumph Charter Academy, both of PUC Schools, were located in San Fernando now they are located in Sylmar.

A private school, The Concordia Schools San Fernando, was in the city. First Lutheran Schools was previously located where Concordia San Fernando was later now located. In 2011 the middle and high school consolidated into Concordia Junior Senior High School.

Public library The County of Los Angeles Public Library operates the San Fernando Library at 217 North Maclay Avenue.

Infrastructure The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the Pacoima Health Center in Pacoima in Los Angeles, serving the City of San Fernando.

The City of San Fernando produces, treats, sells and maintains its own water supply.

The United States Postal Service operates the San Fernando Post Office.

Police Police services in San Fernando is provided by the San Fernando Police Department. The police department has 35 sworn police officers and 25 non-sworn personnel. The department is also augmented by 20 sworn reserve police officers. In times of need, the police department can deploy a total of 55 sworn police officers.

The San Fernando Police Department is a member of the Los Angeles County Disaster Management Area "C". Area "C" consists of the cities of Burbank, Pasadena, Glendale, San Fernando, San Gabriel, Monterey Park, Alhambra and South Pasadena. The San Fernando Police have, in the past, requested mutual aid from the LAPD during major incidents.

Fire The Los Angeles Fire Department provides fire protection services for the city of San Fernando, which serves the community from three nearby fire stations (Station 75, Station 91, and Station 98), all of which are located in the City of Los Angeles.

Fire Station 75 in Mission Hills serves western San Fernando. Fire Station 91 in Sylmar serves north-east San Fernando Fire Station 98 in Pacoima serves south-east San Fernando.

Transport The Sylmar/San Fernando Metrolink station serves the city on the Antelope Valley Line that passes through the city on a route adjacent to and parallel with San Fernando Boulevard. The officials and citizens have expressed their concern about the impact of the California High-Speed Rail if it follows the same route through the city. The city will become the future northern terminus of the East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit Project, the valley's first light rail line by 2027.

California - Palm Springs 
California - Palm Springs
Image: Adobe Stock photogolfer #400172415

San Fernando has a population of over 23,645 people. San Fernando also forms one of the centres of the wider Los Angeles metropolitan area which has a population of over 13,310,447 people.

To set up a UBI Lab for San Fernando see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork

Twin Towns - Sister Cities San Fernando has links with:

🇪🇸 San Fernando, Spain
Text Atribution: Wikipedia Text under CC-BY-SA license

Antipodal to San Fernando is: 61.561,-34.287

Locations Near: San Fernando -118.439,34.2872

🇺🇸 Sylmar -118.429,34.308 d: 2.5  

🇺🇸 Pacoima -118.418,34.253 d: 4.3  

🇺🇸 Granada Hills -118.5,34.283 d: 5.6  

🇺🇸 North Hills -118.476,34.236 d: 6.7  

🇺🇸 North Hollywood -118.405,34.2 d: 10.2  

🇺🇸 Sun Valley -118.372,34.218 d: 9.8  

🇺🇸 Northridge -118.532,34.243 d: 9.8  

🇺🇸 Van Nuys -118.489,34.193 d: 11.5  

🇺🇸 Canyon Country -118.427,34.413 d: 14  

🇺🇸 Reseda -118.537,34.198 d: 13.4  

Antipodal to: San Fernando 61.561,-34.287

🇫🇷 Saint-Pierre 55.478,-21.342 d: 18457.2  

🇲🇺 Mahébourg 57.7,-20.407 d: 18425.7  

🇫🇷 Saint-Benoît 55.713,-21.034 d: 18433.7  

🇲🇺 Curepipe 57.517,-20.317 d: 18411.5  

🇲🇺 Vacoas-Phoenix 57.493,-20.3 d: 18409.1  

🇲🇺 Centre de Flacq 57.718,-20.2 d: 18403.7  

🇲🇺 Quatre Bornes 57.479,-20.266 d: 18405.1  

🇲🇺 Beau Bassin-Rose Hill 57.471,-20.235 d: 18401.5  

🇲🇺 Beau-Bassin Rose-Hill 57.467,-20.233 d: 18401.3  

🇲🇺 St Pierre 57.517,-20.217 d: 18400.7  

Bing Map

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