O.C. Q&A: West County Edition

Mayor Jack de Vries, City Manager Burt Wesenberg, a dairy cow (name unknown), and Assistant City Clerk Susan Guertin toast the incorporation of Dairyland in 1955.

Q:  What (and where) was Dairyland?

A:  The city we now call La Palma was originally called Dairyland and was created to keep cows in and people out. 

After WWII, suburban growth pushed many dairies out of Los Angeles County and into rural areas like west Orange County. When suburban sprawl (quickly) caught up with them once more, the resettled dairymen fought being pushed out again. 

In 1955, (the same year another D-land opened in Orange County) they incorporated the city of Dairyland, with ordinances against residential development. The ploy was short-lived. In 1965, the city's first tract homes were built and voters changed the town's name to La Palma, after La Palma Ave. The cows were soon sent packing.

Q:  When did Stanton become a city?

A:  Which time? Stanton became a city twice. 

The folks neighboring the rail stop of Benedict banded together in 1911 to keep out a proposed sewer facility for Anaheim. With the help of local politico and developer Philip A. Stanton  --  who also founded Huntington Beach and Seal Beach -- they formed the City of Stanton and told Anaheim where to put their stink. In 1924, with the threat long passed, they found that running a city was sort of a bother and disincorporated. 

Stanton didn't bother becoming a city again until 1956, when Orange County was growing by leaps and bounds. Locals realized that if they didn't form their own city (again), they would soon be gobbled up by a neighboring city and lose local control.

Q:  How did the City of Cypress get its name?

A:  The town took its name from the Cypress School District – founded in 1896 – which, according to the late great historian Phil Brigandi, was simply named for the then-popular ornamental tree. 

But Cypress could have easily ended up with another name. In the early years, some called it Waterville, highlighting the area’s many artesian wells. And in 1927, there was briefly talk of changing the name to Lindbergh, in honor of the celebrity aviator. 

With the local dairy industry’s dramatic growth after World War II, the town followed in neighboring Dairyland's footsteps and incorporated as Dairy City in 1956. To nearly everyone’s relief, it was soon re-renamed Cypress.