Huntington Beach was incorporated in 1907. In 1542 the first Spanish explorers came to California. Prior that time it was populated primarily by an indigenous Indian tribe. In 1822 Mexico won control of California, so it was no longer a Spanish colony. During the Mexican-American War of 1847, Baja was retained by Mexico and the upper part of Alta, California including Huntington Beach passed to the United States. It became a territory in 1847 and a state in 1850. In 1901 Huntington Beach began to emerge when a guy named Philip Stanton purchased about a 150,000 acres to develop a resort. It was then known as Pacific City, an idea that was to rival Atlantic City. By 1903 the name of the whole area was changed by Henry Huntington, the president of the Pacific Electric Railway. He was able to get the red car transportation system from Los Angeles down to Huntington Beach, so in January 1904 the area was officially named Huntington Beach. We always had these fantastic beaches, but what we have seen in the last 15 years is the whole downtown area being redeveloped into a postcard perfect resort community.
