San Clemente, CA

San Clemente is a city in Orange County, California. Located on the California Coast, midway between Los Angeles and San Diego at the southern tip of the county, it is known for its ocean, hill, and mountain views, a pleasant climate and its Spanish Colonial style architecture. San Clemente’s city slogan is “Spanish Village by the Sea”. The official city flower is the Bougainvillea; the official city tree, the Coral.

History of San Clemente, CA

Prior to colonization by Spaniards, the area was inhabited by the Juaneño native people. Long admired by explorers and passing settlers, it remained virtually uninhabited until 1776, when Mission San Juan Capistrano was established by Father Junipero Serra, which led both Indian and Spanish settlers to establish villages nearby. After the founding of Mission San Juan Capistrano, the local natives were conscripted to work for the mission.

Property rights to the land exchanged hands several times, but few ventured to build on it until 1925, when former Mayor of Seattle, Ole Hanson, with the financial help of a syndicate headed by Hamilton Cotton, purchased and designed a 2,000-acre community.

Ole Hanson believed that the area’s pleasant climate, beautiful beaches and fertile soil would serve as a haven to Californians who were tired of “the big city”. He named the city after San Clemente Island, which in turn was named by the explorer Vizcaino in 1602 after Saint Clement, whose feast day occurs on November 23, the day of Vizcaino’s arrival on the island.

Hanson envisioned it as a Spanish-style coastal resort town, his “San Clemente by the Sea”. In an unprecedented move, he had a clause added to the deeds requiring all building plans to be submitted to an architectural review board in an effort to ensure that future development would retain some Spanish-style influence.

Hanson succeeded in promoting the new area and selling property to interested buyers. The city was to consist of buildings built in the classic Spanish style with red tile roofs. He built public structures such as the Beach Club, the Community Center, the pier and San Clemente Plaza, now known as Max Berg Plaza Park, which were later donated to the city. The area was officially incorporated as a City on February 27, 1928 with a council-manager government.

Population of San Clemente, CA

The population of San Clemente, CAwas 63,522 at the 2010 census.

Top employers in San Clemente, CA

• Capistrano Unified School Dist
• ICU Medical
• City of San Clemente
• Cross Section Ventures
• Ethical Nutrients
• Ralphs
• Albertsons
• Fishermans Restaurant
• Wal-Mart
• Inspirational Films

San Clemente, CA Zip Codes: 92672, 92673, 92674

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