Lomita (Spanish for “Little hill”) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Take a look below for 10 interesting and amazing facts about Lomita, California, United States.
1. The population was 20,256 at the 2010 census, up from 20,046 at the 2000 census.
2. The Spanish Empire had expanded into this area when the Viceroy of New Spain commissioned Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo to explore the Pacific Ocean in 1542–1543.
3. In 1767, the area became part of the Province of the Californias (Spanish: Provincia de las Californias).
4. In 1784, the Spanish Crown deeded Rancho San Pedro, a tract of over 75,000 acres (300 km2), to soldier Juan José Domínguez.
5. The rancho changed in size over the years, as Domínguez’s descendants partitioned the land amongst family members, sold parcels to newly arriving settlers, or relinquished some when validating their legal claim with the Mexican government in 1828, and with the United States government in 1858.
6. The Domínguez family name is still applied throughout the area, including the Dominguez Rancho Adobe historical landmark, in the unincorporated community of Rancho Dominguez, located northeast of Lomita.
7. Lomita was incorporated as a city on June 30, 1964, to prevent further annexation by neighboring cities and in an attempt to curtail the development of high-rise apartment buildings.
8. Lomita established a sister city relationship with Takaishi, Osaka, Japan, in October 1981.
9. Lomita Railroad Museum, opened in 1966 by Irene Lewis, is a small museum in Lomita devoted to the steam-engine period of railroading. Mrs. Lewis, along with her husband Martin, operated “Little Engines of Lomita”, which sold kits for live steam-engine locomotives. Her engines also appeared in movies, including “The Greatest Show on Earth” (1952) and “Von Ryans Express” (1965). This operation inspired Mrs. Lewis to earn a mechanical engineering degree late in life and to build the museum as a showplace for her products. When built, the museum was the first of its kind West of Denver. The museum was designed to replicate the Boston & Maine’s Greenwood Station in Wakefield, Massachusetts.
10. The Museum was donated by Mrs. Lewis to the City of Lomita in honor of her late husband, Martin Lewis, in 1967. On display are a 1902 Baldwin Locomotive, a Southern Pacific tender, a 1910 Union Pacific caboose, and a Santa Fe caboose. The Museum also houses a full-size replica of a 1920s water tower that was constructed in 2000. The museum also incorporates a small public park, which accommodates a Union Pacific boxcar and a Union Oil tank car. The Museum is open Thursday through Sunday. Mrs. Lewis’s little engines were featured on a Lawrence Welk show saluting senior citizens. Mary Lou Metzger operated the train, and a song about railroading.
