History

John Guess and his wife, Harriet, arrived in the San Gabriel Valley in 1852 in an ox-drawn wagon from Arkansas. They settled in 1855 on a 100-acre ranch called Savannah on the site of what is now Savannah School.

Others followed, including Frank Frost and Leonard Rose. Rose purchased 500 to 700 acres to breed and train horses and called his place Rose’s Meadow, which was shortened to Rosemead and gave the city it’s name.

Small truck farms and chicken and rabbit ranches became popular and the city incorporated in 1959.

The quiet, pastoral lands are now crowded with businesses, industries, shops and some 53,000 people.

Once a lush green pasture extending from the Los Angeles River east to the Pomona area, Rosemead was indeed a fine place for early settlers to raise fruits, vegetables, grain and feed.

Today, the city boasts that its goals include the improvement of quality of life offered in Rosemead in a business friendly atmosphere conducive to continued economic growth and prosperity.

The city offers a desirable and affordable community in which to live and a dynamic and expanding business sector that is an economic growth engine for West Coast commerce.