Sierra Madre (Spanish for "mother range") is a city in Los Angeles County, California, with a population of 11,268 at the time of the 2020 U.S. Census.

[7] In approximately 500 CE, Tongva Indians,[8] the native people migrated from the Mojave area to what would become Los Angeles County (including the San Gabriel Valley).

[9] The first Mount Wilson trail was carved by the Gabrielino Indians, who used it when they carried timber down from the mountains for the construction of the San Gabriel Mission in 1771.

[9] The first of the year brought Pacific Electric Railway Red Car passenger service to Sierra Madre.

[9] On February 2, 1907, the first citywide election was held and 96 citizens voted 71–25 to officially incorporate Sierra Madre; the population was about 500.

The Sierra Madre Villa Hotel was a pioneer of summer resorts that populated the San Gabriel Valley in the late 19th century.

[9] The installation of the Harvard telescope in 1889, which brought its own problems of transporting the instrument up the old Wilson trail, caused an interest in a Mt.

Because of rain, mudslides, falling trees, soil erosion and rockslides, the regularly monitored trail course changes almost every year, and no official records of running times are kept.

[12] The path gains elevation to more than 2,100 feet (640 m); at 4.3 miles (6.9 km) from the start of the race is Orchard Camp, the turnaround point.

Scout troops hike up to provide water at two locations, at the 2.3-mile (3.7 km) point and at the Orchard Camp turnaround.

[12] A year after the city's incorporation, Catholic families contacted a priest from Chicago, Father M. W. Barth, who had moved west for his health, to ask if he could celebrate Mass for them.

[16] The scattering of families that began with Barth in 1908 has grown to more than 1,200 Catholic parish homes today,[15] in a city whose population is now approximately 10,917.

The new Congregational Church structure was completed on Sierra Madre Ave; the Romanesque Revival building was designed by Marsh, Smith, & Powell.

On April 21, 1931, the first meeting of the Sierra Madre Historical Society took place, in conjunction with the city's 50th anniversary celebration.

[9] In March 1938, a disastrous storm and the resulting flood destroyed many resorts in the local mountains, and also ravaged the (John) Muir Lodge in Big Santa Anita Canyon above Sierra Madre.

[17] In 1940, the city purchased 760 acres (3.1 km2) of land in the San Gabriel Mountains near Orchard Camp to avoid contamination of the water supply.

[9] In 1948, the U.S. Supreme Court, in the case of Shelley v. Kraemer, ended racially restrictive covenants that had prevented black people from owning homes in Sierra Madre and some neighboring cities.

However, residential segregation patterns had already become established and persisted up until 1968 when realtors began to routinely show homes to black people.

[20] On March 19, 1976, the Bicentennial time capsule was buried beneath the flagpole at the new Fire and Police Department Facility, then dedicated in May.

[21] According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 3.0 square miles (7.7 km2 (3.0 sq mi) (7.7 km2) of it is land, and 0.15% is water.

Sierra Madre has warm, dry summers, and cool, wet winters (Mediterranean climate type).

In fall months, a Southern California phenomenon called the Santa Ana winds can bring daytime temperatures into the 80s year round, and keep overnight lows above 60, even in winter.

In May and June, hot desert temperatures combined with cool ocean waters bring in low hanging clouds each morning called the Marine Layer.

From July through October, hot temperatures grip the region, with September being the hottest month, unlike the rest of the nation.

It caused regional damage, such as knocking over chimneys and fragmenting cinder block walls that run along major roads in the area.

[48][49] The city's more than 500-foot (150 m)-long Wisteria Vine, was purchased in 1894 by Mrs. William (Alice) Brugman from the old Wilson nursery, in Monrovia, for seventy-five cents.

The association holds a design competition every year, and volunteers start welding on the float chassis in March, preparing for screening, painting, and decorating, and culminating in "deco week," a busy 6 day period that ends with judging on December 31.

[53] Shortly before the Rose Bowl game in 1958, Ohio State Coach Woody Hayes started looking for a place to sequester his team.

The Mater Dolorosa monastery in Sierra Madre offered secluded serenity, along with a small company of black-robed friars to make sure the team didn't get into any mischief.

Bobby Bell, a Minnesota linebacker, remembered the team bus pulling into the monastery one late night, with only the headlights and police escort lights shining against the religious statues.