A Brief History of Los Alamitos-Rossmoor

by Larry Strawther

Overview

The city of Los Alamitos and the contiguous, unincorporated community of Rossmoor exemplify small-town America amid the populous western Orange County sprawl. Their tree-lined streets, well-kept homes and first-rate schools are reflected in Rossmoor's selection as the No. 1 suburb in California (and No. 9 nationwide) in a 2012 study by Coldwell Banker Realty. The evolution of Los Alamitos from cattle ranches and sugar beet factory town to World War II military town and ultimately into residential neighborhoods took a century. Meanwhile, the planned "walled 'city' of Rossmoor" was created between 1955 and 1961. Despite annexation talk, Rossmoor and "Los Al" coexist apart together, so to speak, on Long Beach's outskirts. Author Larry Strawther traces the histories of these interdependent sister communities, which epitomize the reality in the legend of the Orange County lifestyle.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781609498610
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	11/20/2012
Series:	History Press Brief History Series
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	1,128,409
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Larry Strawther wrote and executive produced for Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley and Night Court; wrote for movies, game shows and comedians and reported on Bay Area sports. He runs the Los Alamitos-Rossmoor-Seal Beach History Project online and is a member of Rancho Los Alamitos Community Outreach advisory group and Los Alamitos Museum.

Table of Contents

Preface 9

1 The Land, the Rivers and the First Inhabitants 13

2 Abel Stearns and Rancho Days 19

3 The Bixbys: An Empire of Sheep 25

4 The Bixbys: Town Building 32

5 The Claries, Sugar and a New Town 39

6 Railroads, Immigrants and Fred Bixby 54

7 Oil, Sugar Blues, Horse Meat and Earthquakes 74

8 The Base 95

9 After the War: The Racetrack and Small Town, USA 107

10 Ross Cortese and Rossmoor 128

11 Cityhood for Los Al 140

Epilogue 149

Sources 151

About the Author 157