Villa Park () is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States. It was founded in 1962. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 5,843, making it the smallest city in Orange County.
The city is largely zoned for single-family residences on lots that average about , or acre, in size. Within the city limits there is one small shopping center. City Hall, including a community room, and a branch of the Orange County Public Libraries system is adjacent to the city's only shopping center.
History
left|thumb|upright|Don [[Bernardo Yorba, a wealthy Californio ranchero, owned Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana, which included all of modern-day Villa Park.]]
After the 1769 expedition of Gaspar de Portolá, a Spanish expedition led by Father Junípero Serra named the area Vallejo de Santa Ana (Valley of Saint Anne). On November 1, 1776, Mission San Juan Capistrano became the areas first permanent European settlement in Alta California, New Spain. In 1810, the Spanish Empire granted to Jose Antonio Yorba, which he named Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana. Yorba's rancho included the lands where the cities of Olive, Orange, Villa Park, Santa Ana, Tustin, Costa Mesa and Newport Beach stand today.
After the Mexican-American War in 1848, Alta California became part of the United States in 1850 and American settlers arrived in this area.
Villa Park was known as "Mountain View" in the 1860s. The U.S. Post Office refused to allow the local post office to be so named as there was already a post office with that name in Santa Clara County, so the post office and hence the area came to be called Villa Park after a town in Illinois. It was then an agricultural area producing, in turn, grapes, walnuts, and apricots. Finally, citrus became the major crop for about 60 years.
The Southern Pacific ran freight and limited passenger rail service stopping at Marlboro () and Gratto Passenger service on the Southern Pacific Tustin Branch operated from its opening in 1888 until it was discontinued in 1910.
Ranchers established the Serrano Water District in 1876, which still provides Villa Park's water, and founded the Villa Park Orchards Association (still a business in Orange, although the packing house that was a local landmark was torn down in 1983). Today, Serrano Water District imports water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and stores it in the Santiago Reservoir. In addition, groundwater is pumped from an aquifer managed by Orange County Water District.
In 2005, the Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) shrunk Villa Park's sphere of influence to zero due to its being landlocked by the city of Orange. Shortly after, LAFCO restored Villa Park's sphere of influence after an outcry from local community leaders.
Geography
Villa Park is located at (33.816183, −117.811106). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.
There are no public parks within city limits; many homes have pools and/or tennis courts. Unlike more urban areas of Orange County west of the city, Villa Park has winding streets with few sidewalks and limited street lights. Throughout are trees and flower beds in planted medians and parkways. Surrounded by the city of Orange, Villa Park has the appearance of an enclave due to the city's early unwillingness to annex lands beyond Santiago Creek and those east of a power line easement between the city and Anaheim Hills.
Biogeography
The most common native species: Hairy Sand Verbena, Red Sand Verbena, and Chaparral Sand Verbena.