It is about 12 miles (19 km) northwest of downtown Santa Ana, the county seat, and is within the Los Angeles metropolitan area.

Oak trees provided acorns, while native grasses and sage bushes regularly produced seeds.

[14] Spanish settlers began to establish larger settlements on ranchos by land grants made by the King of Spain.

Manuel Nieto of the Portolà expeditions received a grant in 1783, which was divided by his heirs into five separate ranchos in 1834.

One of them, 46,806-acre (189.42 km2) Rancho Los Coyotes, included the current site of the City of Buena Park.

The area was transferred from Spanish authority to Mexican rule in 1822 and ceded to the United States in 1848 at the end of the Mexican–American War.

By then, Abel Stearns had acquired Rancho Los Coyotes in consideration for loans made to Pio and Andrés Pico.

In 1887, Whitaker founded the City of Buena Park in conjunction with the railway development of what we now know as Orange County.

Another theory relates to the artesian well and its park-like grounds once located at the current intersection of what are now Artesia and Beach Boulevards.

Local settlers referred to the area as "Plaza Buena" which means "good park" in Spanish.

[15] An agricultural center when founded (particularly dairy, wine and citrus products), Buena Park is now primarily a residential suburb and commercial hub.

In 2009, the body of swimsuit model and reality TV star Jasmine Fiore was found stuffed in a suitcase and dumped in an apartment building dumpster near the 7400 block of Franklin Street in northern Buena Park by a resident searching for recyclables.

[17] The E-Zone has also been home to the Movieland Wax Museum, one of the largest of its kind in the world until it closed in 2005; a Ripley's Believe It or Not!

museum that closed on March 30, 2009; and the Japanese Village and Deer Park on Knott Avenue.

Los Coyotes Country Club, located in the northeast of the city, boasts a 27-hole championship course originally designed by Billy Bell in 1957 and redesigned by Ted Robinson in 1998.

Opened in 1981, it is home to an amphitheater, nature trails, and a stocked fishing pond, as well as the Interpretive Center, a small museum which features ice age fossil and local geology exhibits.

[18] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.6 square miles (27 km2).

According to the 2010 United States Census, Buena Park had a median household income of $64,205, with 11.1% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

[45] The Source OC is a Korean shopping center that contains 3 floors, a theater, a golf zone, and a karaoke lounge.

It features two Korean Grocery stores (Hannam & H Mart), bakeries, restaurants, Karaoke spots, and a boba shop.

[46][further explanation needed] Buena Park was incorporated as a General Law City on January 27, 1953.

[51] The United States Postal Service Buena Park Post Office is at 7377 La Palma Avenue.

It was formally established as a library district through the efforts of the Buena Park Woman's Club in 1919.

The current facility's construction was completed in early 1969 financed by a bond measure passed by the citizens of Buena Park on June 6, 1967.

Kennedy, Savanna, Sunny Hills and Western high schools also all serve the city's students, but are in either Fullerton, La Palma or Anaheim.

Buena Park's main commercial artery is Beach Boulevard, (California State Route 39), running north–south and connecting the city's civic center, the E-Zone entertainment district, and Buena Park Downtown shopping center.

The Orange County Transportation Authority provides public bus services, but most residents rely on cars.