¶ … urbanization of Californian suburban city Lancaster. The city does not have a very long history and therefore agricultural activities never found much place here as Lancaster was driven towards industrialization from the very beginning. The paper sheds light on the growth of this major Los Angeles city. LANCASTER, CA

Lancaster, CA is one of the greatest success stories of Los Angeles County as it grew from non-existent area to a busy suburb in less than a century. It is amazing that a city, which is so well managed today, was granted city status only in 1977 when it was officially incorporated after significant pressure from the community. The city status gave this community the right to self-governance and thus it finally emerged out of the shadow of Los Angeles political influence. The reason why it is called a great success story is because it was discovered only in 1876 and by 1890 it had been able to amass considerable prosperity with its own schools, railroad, hotels and of course Californian Gold. Major building projects were undertaken during the economic boom of 1920s. This was the time when cost of property increased manifold and Lancaster became a major site for estate development.

The city was first discovered by South Pacific Railroad Company and was probably given its name by the workers of this firm. But little is known about the early history of this city as a major fire swallowed most...

But that it had become quite a successful community by 1885 is evident from some old records. Mr. Savage's chronicles have this to say about Lancaster and major landmarks. "Antelope Avenue was the principal street, and beginning in the northern end, a man named Spencer ran a fruit and vegetable store and next came the general store owned by Frank Glencross. The Lancaster House occupied the corner of Tenth Street and Antelope Avenue on the north, and across the street and south was a frame warehouse and tin shop, Mr. Deveraux being the tinsmith. Scherer's general store and bar occupied the site of the present residence of Mr. McMurray, and then came a long low building that served as restaurant, saloon and dwelling house." (See reference 1)
Post office service, primary schools and hotels had emerged on Lancaster landscape by the end of 19th century. But electricity took a little longer to come to this city and when it finally entered Lancaster in 1914, it gave this place a new life and a new identity. The changes that electricity brought along were felt in various minor and major ways but they all contributed towards amazing success of this city. From a small community of just 400 people in 1920, it grew steadily and within ten years its population increased to 1,550. The increase in the number of dwellers led to significant rise in business activities. The population today is more than 127,136, certainly no…