Norwalk is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 102,773 at the 2020 census.
Founded in the late 19th century, Norwalk was incorporated as a city in 1957. It is located southeast of downtown Los Angeles and is part of the Greater Los Angeles area.
Norwalk is a member of the Gateway Cities Council of Governments. Norwalk's sister cities are Morelia in the Mexican state of Michoacán, and Hermosillo, in the Mexican state of Sonora.
History
thumb|left|upright|Much of modern-day Norwalk was part of [[Rancho Los Cerritos, owned by Don Juan Temple.]]
<!-- Unsourced image removed: thumb|Norwalk in 1957 -->
The area known as "Norwalk" was first home to the Shoshonean Native American tribe. They survived primarily on honey, an array of 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 with the famous El Camino Real trail traversing the area. Manuel Nieto, a Spanish soldier, received a Spanish land grant (Rancho Los Nietos) in 1784 that included Norwalk.
After the Mexican–American War in 1848, the Rancho and mining days ended. Portions of the land were 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 of land at $11 an acre ($2,700/km<sup>2</sup>) in an area known as Corazón de los Valles, or "Heart of the Valleys".
By 1873, railroads were being built in the area and the Sprouls deeded , stipulating a "passenger stop" clause in the deed. Three days after the Anaheim Branch Railroad crossed the "North-walk" for the first time, Gilbert Sproul surveyed a town site. In 1874, the name was recorded officially as Norwalk. While a majority of the Norwalk countryside remained undeveloped during the 1880s, the Norwalk Station allowed potential residents the opportunity to visit the "country" from across the nation.
The families referred to as the "first families" of Norwalk (including the Sprouls, the Dewitts, the Settles, and the Orrs) settled in the area in the years before 1900. 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. Norwalk's prosperity was evident in the 1890s with the construction of a number of fine homes that were located in the middle of orchards, farms and dairies. Headstones for these families can be found at Little Lake Cemetery, which was founded in 1843 on the border between Norwalk and Santa Fe Springs at Lakeland Road.
alt=Norwalk, CA depot with deep eaves, loading docks and storefronts. A wagon, fully laden with milk cans is in front.|left|thumb|Norwalk depot and a wagon loaded with milk cans, 1910
At the turn of the 19th century, Norwalk had become established as a dairy center. Of the 50 local families reported in the 1900 census, most were associated with farming or with the dairy industry. Norwalk was also the home of some of the largest sugar beet farms in all of Southern California during this era. Many of the dairy farmers who settled in Norwalk during the early part of the 20th century were Dutch.
thumb|Norwalk Town Square sign at night; the sign was completed in 1954 by the [[Pacific Life Insurance Company]]
After the 1950s, the Hispanic population in Norwalk grew significantly as the area became increasingly residential.
Airplane disaster
In February 1958, two military aircraft, a Douglas C-118A military transport and a U.S. Navy P2V-5F Neptune patrol bomber, collided over Norwalk at night. Forty-seven servicemen were killed, as was a civilian 23-year-old woman on the ground who was hit by falling debris. A plaque commemorating the disaster and erected by the American Legion in 1961 marks the spot of the accident, today a mini-mall at the corner of Firestone Boulevard and Pioneer Boulevard.
The Hargitt House
Built in 1891 by the D.D. Johnston family, the Hargitt House was built in the architectural style of Victorian Eastlake. The Hargitt House Museum, located at 12426 Mapledale, was donated to the people of Norwalk by Charles ("Chun") and Ida Hargitt.
The Sproul House
alt=façade of the historical Sproul house in Norwalk. There is a porch on the right and a flagpole in front flying an American flag.|left|thumb|Historic Sproul House
The Sproul House is a Stick Style-influenced, Victorian farm house built in 1870 by the founder of Norwalk, Gilbert Sproul. He and his family lived there while he founded Norwalk. His descendants lived in the house continually until 1962 when it was donated to the city. Today it houses the Gilbert Sproul Museum which covers Norwalk history through artifacts, photos, documents and other interpretive elements.
Geography
Norwalk is located at (33.906914, −118.083398).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of . of it is land and of it (0.40%) is water.
Norwalk is bordered by Downey to the northwest, Bellflower to the southwest, Cerritos and Artesia to the south, and Santa Fe Springs and Whittier to the north and east.