by Jeffrey Lawrence Cornejo Jr. (Author)
If Azusa lived up to the reputation aggrandized from the glib assessment that it was the city with "everything from A to Z in the U.S.A.," no one would want to live anywhere else. Hyperbole aside, many Azusa residents love the place just as it is. This vibrant city grew from a citrus town to a bustling suburb nestled in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. Also known as the "Canyon City" on
the banks of the San Gabriel River, Azusa initially was a village of the Gabrieleno tribe before becoming Henry Dalton's Rancho Azusa during rule by Spain and later Mexico, and continued to grow during
California's fledgling era of U.S. statehood. Founded by Los Angeles banker Jonathan Sayer Slauson in 1887 as a stop on the Santa Fe Railroad, the city was incorporated in 1898.