The city of Rosemead, California, CA

Several notable individuals were granted land that would partially or fully make up what would become Rosemead, including Manuel Antonio (a Native American grantee, a rarity), Juan Matias Sanchez, and Caucasian pioneers such as John Guess & Frank Forst.

The community’s namesake came from an additional pioneer that followed, Leonard John Rose, a German immigrant who used the land he acquired to train and breed horses. He christened his ranch “Rose’s Meadow,” which over time was colloquially shortened to ‘Rosemeade,’ before eventually losing its final letter to take its present form.

Rosemead remained rural well into the 20th century, the initial piecemeal land grants being followed by smaller individual groves, crops, and animals. Around World War II, its local spaciousness also led to the establishment of a small airport, though the early ’60s discontinued it.

Suburbanization eventually reached Rosemead around the same time, with the city finally being legally incorporated in 1959. The expected housing developments and storefronts followed, both of which still comprise much of the community in the present day.

As with many of the surrounding towns, the most recent decades have seen an exponential growth of Asian American residents within Rosemead.

The most recently available census data shows over 60% of residents identify as being of Asian descent, the seventh-largest concentration within Los Angeles County. As a result, this demographic has been a vital & vibrant face of much local culture & business.