Downey

Downey is a city located in southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States, 21 km (13 miles) southeast of downtown Los Angeles. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 107,323. Prior to the arrival of the Spanish in Alta California, the area that now comprises Downey was inhabited by the Tongva ethnic group, which came to be called the Gabrielino by the Spanish. Spanish colonial history of the area today known as Downey dates back to 1771 with the founding of the Mission San Gabriel Arcangel, a California State historical landmark. The founding of the mission and mission lands establishes the birthplace of the modern Los Angeles region. In 1784, Governor Pedro Fages granted to former solider Manuel Nieto (1734-1804) the largest of the land concessions made during the Spanish control of California. Its 300,000 acres (1,200 km²) stretched from the Santa Ana River on the east to the Old San Gabriel River (now the Rio Hondo and Los Angeles River) on the west,... full article at wikipedia