The City of Whittier is located in the southern part of California in the Los Angeles County, and is just about twelve miles away from the main city. The current mayor is Bob Henderson. According to the 2000 U.S. Census Bureau the estimated population of eighty three thousand residents and an area covering just under fifteen square miles. Whittier is considered to be one of the "Gateway"cities to Los Angeles, along with Montebello. The neighboring cities include Hacienda Heights, City of Industry, San Gabriel Valley, and Pico Rivera.
The city gains its origins from a valiant Spanish solider, Manuel Nieto, who received a large land grant as a reward for his service. He had named his newly acquired land Rancho Los Nietos. The land was once owned by the last Governor of Mexico, Pio Pico, in the area around the time of the Mexican-American War. Later on, Jacob F. Gerkins bought one hundred sixty acres from the United States Government for only $234. In times after his land purchase he was to become the first Cheif of Police of the Los Angeles Police Department. The Quakers had also bought the land in order to establish a community for other Quakers. They began to develop a very successful agriculture region and started the name "Quaker Brand". The city gained its name from a popular Quaker poet, John Greenlead Whittier.
In the city you can find the Whittwood Town Center, which was once called the Whittwood Mall, where it hopes in the future to develop a robust Uptown area. In the town center there are already established businesses such as JC Penny, Target, and Sears. The business directory will have more information about what businesses can be found at the town center or around the city. The city is planning on other, more popular companies to inhabit the area and to build an area of residential town homes.
Whittier has attractions to the city like the Rose Hills Memorial Park, which is said to be one of the largest cemeteries in the world. There are several historical landmarks found in Whittier, more information about the these can be learned on the California yellowpages.