Compton is a city of myth and misunderstandings. Today, it is known as the city of "hip-hop dreams and gangsta fantasies." Its history, however, is not as well known. Compton was originally part of the Rancho San Pedro Spanish land grant. The area was deeded as a wedding gift, lost in foreclosure, then sold to F.P.F. Temple and F.W. Gibson at a sheriff's sale. Ultimately, it was settled in 1867 by former forty-niners from Stockton. Given its location halfway between the harbor and Los Angeles, the "Hub City" has seen many pivotal events: the dawn of flight at the 1910 international air meet, the 1933 earthquake, floods, white flight, factory shut-downs, decline, and now a new beginning at the start of the 21st century.

Author: Robert Lee Johnson
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing (SC)
Published: 07/16/2012
Series: Images of America (Arcadia Publishing)
Pages: 128
Weight: 0.85lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.40w x 0.50d
ISBN: 9780738595399

About the Author
Johnson, Robert Lee: - Robert Lee Johnson is chairman of the projects committee of the History Council at the California African American Museum. He was co-coordinator of the Compton branch of the Black Panther Party and a founding member of the Coalition Against Police Abuse. Johnson lectures on local history and mentors a civil rights class at Otis College. His family moved from Watts to Compton in 1961.