Atwood, Placentia, California facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Atwood
Neighborhood
Atwood, Placentia, California Location in the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Country	United States
State	California
County	Orange County
City	Placentia
Time zone	UTC-8
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7
Website	City of Placentia

Atwood is a small neighborhood in Placentia, California, United States. Many of its residents are of Mexican-American heritage.

The area of Atwood is roughly shaped like a square. Its unofficial borders are Orangethorpe Avenue, Van Buren Street, Lakeview Road, and Miraloma Avenue. Atwood has its own post office. It uses the ZIP code 92811 for PO boxes. Most other addresses in Atwood use "Placentia" as their city name.

Along Orangethorpe Avenue, there is a small business area. You can find the post office there, along with restaurants, markets, and other stores. These businesses often serve the local Latino community. The Parque de Los Ninos (Children's Park) is also in Atwood. A busy train line, the BNSF Railway, runs next to Orangethorpe Avenue.

History of Atwood

How Atwood Got Its Name

In 1887, this area was first called Richfield. It got this name because of the many oil wells nearby. Later, the town's name changed to Atwood. This new name honored W. J. Atwood, who was an executive at an oil company.

Atwood was once an independent town in Orange County. In the early 1970s, it became part of the city of Placentia. This process is called annexation.

Citrus Industry and Communities

Around the year 1900, many Mexican families lived in special communities in Southern California. These communities were often called colonias. They were built near industries like the citrus farms. Orange County had many small towns focused on growing citrus fruits.

Some of these towns were set up to keep Mexican-American workers separate from white residents. This separation was called segregation. People were often separated by railroad tracks or fences. This affected where they lived, went to school, and even played sports.

Atwood is one of these neighborhoods that still exists today. It is a place where many Mexican-American families have lived for generations. These neighborhoods are often working-class areas. They can be very close to wealthy, gated communities. Other examples include Casa Blanca in Riverside and La Jolla, Placentia.

The Citrus Strike of 1936

In 1936, citrus workers in Orange County went on strike. They were protesting against poor working conditions and low pay. Workers from Atwood were part of this important strike.

During the strike, there were conflicts. Some people tried to break the strike. White women went to the orchards to pick oranges. College students from Los Angeles also helped to block the striking workers.

The Great Flood of 1938

Atwood was hit hard by the Santa Ana River flood in 1938. After five days of heavy rain, the water rose very quickly. It went up 5 feet in just five minutes. The flood destroyed almost everything in Atwood. Only a few buildings, like the La Jolla School, survived.

This flood left 3,700 people without homes. About 1,500 houses were too damaged to live in. More than 50 people died, mostly from the Atwood area. Because of this disaster, the Prado Dam was built. It was constructed upstream near Corona between 1938 and 1941 to help control future floods.

Community Art: The Atwood Mural

In 1977, a Chicano artist and teacher named Manuel Hernandez-Trujillo created a large mural in Atwood. It is painted on a 260-foot-long wall above a river channel in Parque de Los Ninos.

The mural shows many different images. These include Mayan gods, Aztec eagles, and orange groves. It also features serpents, field workers, and a sun image. A crossed rifle and sword represent the Mexican Revolution.

In 2019, the mural was accidentally painted over by county workers. A project was then started to restore it. Joshua Correa, Xochitl Zuniga (Hernandez-Trujillo's daughter), and Joe Parra worked together to bring the mural back to life.

See also

In Spanish: Atwood (California) para niños