El Segundo, California
city in Los Angeles County, California, United States
El Segundo ( EL sə-GUN-doh, Spanish: [el seˈɣundo]; Spanish for 'The Second') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located on Santa Monica Bay, it was incorporated on January 18, 1917, and is part of the South Bay Cities Council of Governments. The population was 17,272 as of the 2020 census, a 3.7% increase from 16,654 in the 2010 census. A significant center of the oil and aerospace industries in Southern California, roughly three quarters of the city's land is dedicated exclusively to industrial and commercial uses, including a Chevron oil refinery which takes up more than a quarter of the city.
History
The Tongva (or Gabrieleños) Native American tribes inhabited the area of El Segundo and the Los Angeles coastal area when the Spanish arrived. The area was once a part of Rancho Sausal Redondo ("Round Willow Patch Ranch"). Rancho Sausal Redondo extended from Playa Del Rey in the north to Redondo Beach in the south. Originally a Mexican land grant owned by Antonio Ygnacio Avila, the rancho was later purchased by a Scottish baronet named Sir Robert Burnett in 1860. After his return to Scotland in 1873, the property was purchased by the then-manager of the rancho, Daniel Freeman. Freeman sold portions of the rancho to several persons.
“El Segundo, California” enters the record as city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Segundo, California and city can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“El Segundo, California” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Segundo, California and city provides the most credible route into that argument.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q983859. VIAF identifies the subject as 123782992. The Library of Congress control number is n80116446. Authority coordinates are 33.919, -118.416. 5 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1917, 2020, 2010 and 1860.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “El Segundo, California”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow El Segundo, California primary sources, El Segundo, California archive and Segundo research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “El Segundo, California”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “El Segundo, California” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.