About Norwalk

The City of Norwalk was incorporated on August 26, 1957 becoming L.A. County’s 66th City. Located in the midst of some of Southern California’s most accessible highways in the greater Los Angeles area, and located only 17 miles southeast of Los Angeles, the 9.35 square miles that make up the City of Norwalk have become one of the most rapidly developing and growing communities anywhere in the state of California. The City of Norwalk is approximately 95 feet above sea level, has an average temperature of 63 degrees, and averages an estimated 10 inches of rainfall per year.

The City of Norwalk proudly celebrated its 50th anniversary as a city during 2007, and with a community sense of pride and accomplishment, eagerly looks forward to an even brighter future. The City is governed by five council members a year on a nonpartisan basis. The mayor and vice mayor are selected each year by the council members. The city uses the city manager form of government. Council meetings are held at 6 p.m. on the first and third Tuesdays of the month in the Council Chambers, located at City Hall. All council meetings are open to the public and members of the community are encouraged to attend and bring their views to the council.

The City is a general law city, and contracts for services in law enforcement with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and also contracts out for fire, water, street sweeping, and trash disposal. The City is served by one of the nation’s most successful and responsible municipal transit services, the Norwalk Transit system. In business, education, government, and law enforcement, the signs of growth serve as evidence for a bright future. Norwalk’s parks and community recreation programs are administered by the City’s Recreation and Park Services Department. The parks system consists of 12 parks with a total of 87.3 acres of land.

NORWALK HISTORICAL HOMES

The Johnston family was considered one of the “first” families of Norwalk, settling here prior to the 1900’s.   Darius David (“D.D”.) Johnston pioneered the first school system in Norwalk in 1880.  Johnston was also responsible for the first real industry in town, a cheese factory, by furnishing Tom Lumbard with the money in 1882.  By the turn of the 19th century, Norwalk had become an established dairy center. Norwalk was also the home of some of the largest sugar beet farms in all of Southern California during this era.

GILBERT SPROUL MUSEUM

Norwalk Park, 12237 Sproul Street

The area known as “Norwalk” was first home to the Shoshonean Indian tribes. Surviving primarily on honey, berries, acorns, sage, squirrels, rabbits and birds, their huts were part of the Sejat Indian village.

In the late 1760s, settlers and missions flourished under Spanish rule. Manuel Nieto, a Spanish soldier, received a Spanish land grant (Rancho Los Nietos) in 1784 that included the area of Norwalk.

The Rancho and mining days in California ended around 1860 and the land was subdivided and made available for sale when California was admitted into the union of the United States. Word of this land development reached the Sproul Brothers in Oregon. They recalled the fertile land and huge sycamore trees they saw during an earlier visit to the Southern California area. In 1869, Atwood Sproul, on behalf of his brother, Gilbert, purchased 463 acres (1.87 km²) of land at $11 an acre ($2700/km²) in an area known as Corazon de los Valles, or “Heart of the Valleys”.

About Norwalk Community Hospital

Our primary focus is on the complete care of the patient through quality, accessible healthcare available to everyone. Our collaborative team works to ensure the best outcome for each and every patient.

Our name only tells a small part of our hospital’s story, however.

As an acute care, 50-bed community hospital, we provide quality healthcare to the Norwalk and surrounding communities. This includes our 24/7 emergency department and more than a dozen specialties, including  pulmonary, gastrointestinal, cardiology, internal medicine, orthopedics, surgical services and more.