Lompoc (/ˈlɒmpoʊk/ LOM-poke; Chumashan Purisimeño: lumpo'o̥) is a city in Santa Barbara County, California, United States.

Lompoc has been inhabited for thousands of years by the Chumash people, who called the area lumpo'o̥, meaning 'in the cheeks' in the local Purisimeño language.

[2] The Spanish called the area Lompoco after Fermín de Lasuén had established Misión La Purísima in 1787.

The Western Institute for Endangered Language Documentation (WIELD) confirmed that the Chumash Purisimeño word lumpo'o̥ translates to 'in the cheeks'.

[10] It used to be believed that Lompoc translated to 'stagnant waters'[11] as was first mentioned in the 1974 paper Chumash Placenames by Richard Applegate.

In 1981 the writings of John P. Harrington were cataloged at the Smithsonian Museum and quoted Maria Solares with the correct Lompoc translation.

In 1893, a diatomaceous earth mine, formerly owned by Johns Manville, World Mineral, and Celite corporation, now Imerys Inc., opened in the southern hills in Miguelito Canyon.

[15] In 1909, the Sibyl Marston—at the time, the largest steam schooner built on the West Coast—sank nearby while carrying 1,100,000 board feet (2,600 m3) of lumber.

[16] The coastal branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad opened around 1900 and eventually replaced ship transportation.

In 1923, the Honda Point disaster, the U.S.'s largest peacetime naval accident, occurred just off the coast; nine U.S. destroyers ran aground, killing 23 people.

During the Great Depression, La Purisima Mission was restored by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).

The city then began to grow rapidly to provide housing for thousands of civilians and contractors employed at what was soon renamed Vandenberg Air Force Base.

However, when the Challenger exploded during take-off from Cape Canaveral in 1986, the West Coast shuttle program was terminated, sending Lompoc into a severe recession.

[17] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.7 square miles (30 km2), 99.34% of it land and 0.66% of it water.

Rita Hills AVA wine appellation, internationally recognized for premium pinot noir and chardonnay.

[27][28] One of the retail establishments is being licensed for onsite consumption claiming to be the first between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

[31][32] Companies must be licensed by the local agency and the state to grow, test, or sell cannabis and the city may authorize none or only some of these activities.

[33] Local governments may not prohibit adults, who are in compliance with state laws, from growing, using, or transporting marijuana for personal use.

The city is also served by the Lompoc Fire Department (LFD), which responds to more than 3,800 emergency and non-emergency calls per year.

The Lompoc Valley Flower Festival, held the last week of June, features a parade, carnival, food vendors, and craft show.

One of Lompoc's most successful musical artists is the rock band Saint Anne's Place, which was formed in 2008 and released their first EP, Speak Easy, in 2011.

[39][40] The band's music has been described as a "blistering yet rustic mix of blues, psychedelia, and folk rock with the chops of players twice their senior".

[44] Her first EP, Head on Straight, was released in February 2012,[45] and she played at the Indie Week festival in Ireland in April 2014.

[46] Wryn also collaborates with a local band, Saint Anne's Place, and in a group called The Lights Electric.

[49] In July 2003, a non-profit group, the Lompoc Housing and Community Development Corporation, announced plans to restore the theater.

[50] The Lompoc Theatre Project Organization was formed in 2012 with the help of Howlin' Byroon's Music Store (2009–2014) owner Brian W. Cole, Donelle Martin, Carol Benham, Michelle Shaefer and others.

It was formally sold, and attaining the keys, to the same grassroots group called the Lompoc Theatre Project in 2016.

[51][52][53][54] Founded in 1996,[55] the Lompoc Pops Orchestra consists of about 45 semi-professional musicians under the direction of Brian Asher Alhadeff.

Lompoc is also frequently referred to in the TV cartoon series Roger Ramjet, though consistently mispronounced "Lom-pock".

[78] The Australian punk rock band Lompoc County Splatterheads were named from an episode where the hero refers to "local louts as a bunch of 'Splatter heads'.