Montebello

History

Historic occupants of the land along the Rio Hondo River were the indigenous Tongva (also known as Gabrielino), a portion of the Uto-Aztecan family of Native Americans. The Tongva occupied much of the Los Angeles basin and the southern Channel Islands - Santa Catalina, San Nicolas, San Clemente and Santa Barbara. When the explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo arrived off the shores of Santa Catalina in 1542, he was met by the Tongva people. Because the language of the Tongva was different from the neighboring tribes, the Spanish called them "Gabrielino." As more non-natives arrived and established settlements, diseases that were endemic among them caused high mortality among the Tongva and other indigenous peoples. These were new infectious diseases to them. By 1870, the area had few remaining indigenous inhabitants. Father Angel Somera and Father Pedro Cambon, both Franciscan missionaries, founded the original Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, called Mission Vieja, on September 8, 1771. Today the site is near the intersection of San Gabriel Boulevard and the Rio Hondo River. The establishment of this mission marked the beginning of settlement by Spaniards in the Los Angeles region; it was the fourth of twenty-one missions that they ultimately established along California's El Camino Real. The mission did well initially as a farm and cattle ranch. Six years after its founding, however, a destructive flood led the mission fathers to relocate the mission farther north, to its current location in what is the present day city of San Gabriel. The original mission site is California Historical Landmark #161. During the early years of the mission's operations, the region was managed by Spanish colonists who had a "Rancho" land grant system. The current city of Montebello…

Geography

Montebello is located east of downtown Los Angeles. The city is considered to be part of the Gateway Cities while the northern part of the city is in the San Gabriel Valley. The surrounding cities are Monterey Park, South San Gabriel, and Rosemead to the north, Commerce to the south, Pico Rivera to the east, and Los Angeles and East Los Angeles to the west. The city is a member of the Gateway Cities Council of Governments. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which are land and or 0.48% is water.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Downey High
  High · Downey · 4,063 students · 23.4:1 ratio
• Paramount High
  High · Paramount · 3,737 students · 20.5:1 ratio
• Warren (Earl) High
  High · Downey · 3,437 students · 23.7:1 ratio
• Arcadia High
  High · Arcadia · 3,022 students · 25:1 ratio
• California High
  High · Whittier · 2,504 students · 23.2:1 ratio
• La Serna High
  High · Whittier · 2,410 students · 25.9:1 ratio
• Bell Senior High
  High · Bell · 2,351 students · 22:1 ratio
• James A. Garfield Senior High
  High · Los Angeles · 2,247 students · 17.6:1 ratio