Garden Grove is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States.

It remained a small rural crossroads and farming community until the arrival of the Pacific Electric Railroad in 1905.

The rail connection helped the town prosper with the influx of tourists, visitors and eventually settlers,[7] and it was noted for its crops of oranges, walnuts, chili peppers and later strawberries.

[8] In 1933, much of the town's central business district was destroyed by the Long Beach earthquake, and one person was killed at the high school.

The post-World War II boom led to rapid development, and Garden Grove was incorporated as a city in 1956 with about 44,000 residents.

[9] In 1956, Orange County Plaza (now The Promenade) was opened at Chapman and Brookhurst, and upon its expansion in 1959, it had 60 stores, including a J. C. Penney, 2 variety stores and 2 supermarkets, and billed itself as both the largest and the first regional shopping center in Orange County.

A panhandle in the southern part of the town's borders situated between Westminster's Ward Street to the west and Santa Ana's Euclid Street to the east creates a small border with the city of Fountain Valley.

[13] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 46.5 km2 (18.0 sq mi), 0.10% of which is water.

There were 47,755 housing units at an average density of 2,659.1 per square mile (1,026.7/km2), of which 26,240 (57.0%) were owner-occupied, and 19,797 (43.0%) were occupied by renters.

According to the 2010 United States census, Garden Grove had a median household income of $59,988, with 15.5% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

[39][40] It began in 1958 and celebrates the city's agricultural past, which includes cultivating crops such as chili peppers, oranges, walnuts and strawberries.

Part of the festivities include the cutting of the world's largest strawberry shortcake, carnival rides, food vendors, live music, and a celebrity-filled parade.

On January 26, 2016, the city council voted to settle the lawsuit, and therefore adopted that council members would be voted by district (six districts total) and no longer at-large; the mayor, however, will continue to be elected at-large.

[45] The city council consists of mayor Steve Jones, Phat Bui, George S. Brietigam III, John R. O'Neill, Thu-Ha Nguyen, Stephanie Klopfenstein, and mayor pro tem Kim B.