Lancaster, California

About Lancaster, California

Lancaster, California, USA, is the eighth-largest city in Los Angeles County and the 9th fastest growing city in the United States. Lancaster is located approximately 70 miles (112.5km) north (by road travel) of the city of Los Angeles in Southern California's Antelope Valley. It is separated from the Los Angeles Basin by the San Gabriel Mountain Range to the south and from Bakersfield and the San Joaquin Valley by the Tehachapi Mountain Range to the north. The City of Lancaster has grown from 37,000 residents at the time of incorporation in 1977, to an estimated 145,243 residents in 2008, and is the second-largest city on the California side of the Mojave Desert. As of the 2007 population estimate, the Palmdale / Lancaster, CA Urbanized Area (a US Census Bureau defined term) has a population of 446,342.

The community of Lancaster California was settled in the late 19th century by M.L. Wicks, a real estate developer who purchased six sections of land from the Southern Pacific Railroad (now merged into the Union Pacific Railroad). The origin of the city's name is debated among historians, but it is presumed to be named after Lancaster, Pennsylvania or Lancaster, England.

Early in its history, Lancaster was little more than a whistle-stop on the Southern Pacific Railroad between San Francisco and Los Angeles, with one hotel, the Gilwyn (known today as the Western Hotel), and a handful of homes. The settlement grew quickly, however, and by 1890, Lancaster was quite prosperous. The town experienced another small boom at the turn of the 20th century when gold and borax were discovered simultaneously in the mountains around the Antelope Valley.