Pomona

Pomona is a southern California city situated in the Pomona Valley between the San Gabriel Mountains and the Chino Hills. The settlement was named after Pomona, the ancient Roman goddess of fruit and fruit trees. Extensive citrus orchards once filled the surrounding landscape, establishing the valley as an early agricultural capital for sweet oranges.

Ranchers Ygnacio Palomares and Ricardo Vejar acquired the territory in the 1830s under the Mexican land grant of Rancho San Jose. Palomares constructed a family adobe homestead in the 1850s to oversee cattle grazing across the grasslands. The townsite was surveyed in 1875 alongside planned rights-of-way for the Southern Pacific Railroad. Pomona received its official city charter in 1888 as commercial citrus groves expanded across the basin. The introduction of refrigerated rail cars during the 1890s enabled growers to dispatch fresh oranges to eastern markets, fueling local irrigation projects.

Cal Spas manufactures portable hot tubs and outdoor barbecue islands on East Ninth Street. Mission Foods produces stone-ground corn tortillas and wheat flour wraps. Pomona Electronics manufactures electronic test cables, coaxial adapters, and oscilloscope probes for laboratory instrumentation. Commercial packing operations process Valencia oranges and lemons grown in foothill groves. Logistics terminals transfer containerized freight arriving from Southern California seaport channels to regional fulfillment warehouses. Heavy freight trains transport these consumer goods through the valley along transcontinental railroad spurs.

Fairplex hosts the annual Los Angeles County Fair alongside agricultural expositions and cultural festivals. The In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip stages national drag racing competitions for the National Hot Rod Association. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona educates students in agricultural science, engineering, and environmental design on its hilltop campus. The Fox Theater Pomona presents concerts and cinema screenings inside a restored Art Deco auditorium dating from the 1930s. Singer Tom Waits was born in the city before developing his distinct gravelly vocal style. Actress Jessica Alba was born in Pomona before starring in major motion picture releases.