[11] The Spanish Empire had expanded into this area when the Viceroy of New Spain commissioned Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo to explore the Pacific Ocean in 1542–1543.

These families had traveled by wagon train south from Stockton, California, in search of ways to earn a living other than the rapid exhaustion of gold fields.

[9] Compton's earliest settlers were faced with terrible hardships as they farmed the land in bleak weather to get by with just the barest subsistence.

Many in the Compton party wanted to relocate to a friendlier climate and settle down, but as there were two general stores within traveling distance—one in the pueblo of Los Angeles, the other in Wilmington—they eventually decided to stay put.

[16] The ample residential lots of Richland Farms gave residents enough space to raise a family, and food to feed them, along with building a barn, and caring for livestock.

[9] On March 10, 1933, a destructive earthquake caused many casualties: schools were destroyed and there was major damage to the central business district.

Shortly after President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 in February 1942, Compton residents of Japanese descent were forcibly removed from their homes and interned for the duration of World War II.

Despite being located in the middle of a major metropolitan area, thanks to the legacy of Griffith D. Compton, there still remains one small pocket of agriculture from its earliest years.

[14] During the 1950s and 1960s, after the Supreme Court declared all racially exclusive housing covenants (title deeds) unconstitutional in the case Shelley v. Kraemer, the first black families moved to the area.

[19] Four years later, in 1973, Doris A. Davis defeated Dollarhide's bid for re-election to become the first female black mayor of a metropolitan American city.

This past affluence is reflected in the area's appearance: Compton's streets are lined with relatively spacious and attractive single family houses.

In later years, there were middle-class whites who fled to the newly incorporated cities of Artesia, Bellflower, Cerritos, Paramount and Norwalk in the late 1950s.

Some were unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County such as Ladera Heights, View Park and Windsor Hills, and others were cities such as Inglewood and Carson.

[61] The rise in homicides frightened residents who had long lived with high levels of gang violence but had seen a downturn in violent crime in recent years.

[65] The neighborhood lost residents with the worsening safety problems and, after the 1992 riots in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, many African Americans left the city.

[citation needed][70] The decrease in homicides has been attributed to various factors, including changing demographics, faster response times by police (reducing shots fired) and better medical care (increasing survival rates).

Aja Brown, mayor elected in 2013, helped to settle turf wars between the gangs, which has further reduced the homicide rate.

where the citizens of Compton were given the option to turn in firearms and receive a $50–$100 check for various goods in an effort to combat gun violence.

[77] Compton made the national list for best places to start and grow a business, and ranked #2 in Los Angeles County out of a field of 88 cities.

[81] The Long Beach and Los Angeles Ports are less than 20 minutes from downtown Compton, providing access to international destinations for customers and suppliers.

[83] Some episodes of the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air took place in Compton because Will Smith's friend, DJ Jazzy Jeff, lived there.

[84] Many rap artists' careers started in Compton, including N.W.A (Eazy-E, MC Ren, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, DJ Yella), Coolio, DJ Quik, 2nd II None, Hi-C, Tweedy Bird Loc, The Game, Kendrick Lamar, YG, Vince Staples, Roddy Ricch, and Compton's Most Wanted.

Eazy-E grew into the music industry as part the N.W.A group that spawned hip hop icons, such as Easy-E, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Mc Ren, DJ Yella and many others.

[81] Located on Alondra Boulevard, the airport offers flight training, has accommodations for more than 200 planes, and is home to several aviation clubs.

At the corner of Myrrh and Willowbrook near the Civic Center Plaza, the Heritage House is a rustic-looking home that will eventually have a museum detailing early life in Compton.

[94] After Lionel Cade, an accountant, assumed the mayor's office in 1977, one of the first orders of business was to conduct an audit of the city's finances.

However, with the passage of the property tax cutting initiative Proposition 13 by California voters, Compton was one of the cities hardest hit, since it had already eliminated most of the excess from its budget.

The police department claims it was disbanded after investigations of gang activity led to then-Compton Mayor Omar Bradley.

The Los Angeles Times says the City Council voted in a closed meeting, September 9, 2010, to fire Charles Evans.

[105] Occidental's Center for Food and Justice and its Compton Farm-to-School project were featured in a segment of Life and Times, a half-hour news program on PBS member television station KCET in Los Angeles.