Placentia ( ) is a city in Orange County, California, United States. It is part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Placentia's population was 51,233 at the 2020 US census. The city is primarily referred to as a bedroom community.
In 1971, Placentia was honored with the All-America City Award, given out annually by the National Civic League to 10 cities in the United States.
History
Indigenous peoples of California referred to by the Spanish as Gabrielenos, known as the Tongva, lived in the area for thousands of years. One estimate wrote that the native population in what was to become northern Orange County was at least 1,000.
In 1837, the Mexican government granted the area that is now Placentia to Juan Pacifico Ontiveros as part of the Rancho San Juan Cajón de Santa Ana land grant. The town eventually took its own name after the school district.
Oil was found in 1919, which led to the development of numerous oil wells in eastern and northern Placentia. The town of Richfield, which later became Atwood, was built to house oil workers. Mexican laborers formed the majority of the labor force in the oil industry. The neighboring town of La Jolla, Placentia was constructed for a similar reason as a segregated colonia.
left|thumb|220x220px|[[La Jolla, Placentia, California|La Jolla, Placentia, a predominately Mexican colonia, after the Santa Ana River flood of 1938]]
The predominately Mexican areas of Placentia were heavily hit by the Santa Ana River flood of 1938, which destroyed everything in the area but "the La Jolla School Building and three brick structures." The flood left 3,700 refugees and 1,500 homes uninhabitable, and "caused more than 50 deaths, most from the Atwood area."
Mexican-American war veterans from World War II worked to end school segregation in Placentia in 1948.
The Mexican-American community in Placentia developed its own political power base in the 1950s. This resulted in the election of Aguirre to Placentia's city council from 1958 to 1962 and the registration of hundreds of Chicano voters in the city.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which 0.22% is covered by water. State Route 57 (the Orange Freeway) runs through the southwest section of Placentia. State Route 91 (the Riverside Freeway) passes directly south of the city. Districts in Placentia include the neighborhood of La Jolla and the formerly unincorporated community of Atwood.
Climate
According to the Köppen climate classification, Placentia has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, CSA on climate maps.