According to legend, the name “Santa Monica” was given to the spot because a padre accompanying the expedition said the waters of the springs reminded him of the tears shed by St. Monica over her wayward son, St. Augustine, before his conversion. Although no one knows the truth of this legend, it is generally cited as the origin of the City’s name.

As part of the boundary litigation settlement, Sepulveda was declared the owner of the area known as San Vicente y Santa Monica. In 1872, Colonel Robert Baker bought the property from the descendants of Francisco Sepulveda. On July 10, 1875, Col. Baker and his partner, Senator John P. Jones, recorded a map the town of Santa Monica at the Los Angeles County Recorder’s office.

By the 1960’s Santa Monica’s population had reached over 32,000. The beach remained a prime attraction but the city was no longer a quiet beach town—it had become metropolitan. The city of Santa Monica is one of California’s most sophisticated centers. It is a place not only where tourists come, but also a place where business and industry meet to make Santa Monica a perennial force in the Sunshine State.