El Monte is a city in Los Angeles County, in the heart of Southern California. Known for its place in the entertainment industry, El Monte started out as a quiet and successful farming community. With its close proximity to Los Angeles, residents of El Monte enjoy having easy access to all of Los Angeles’s big city amenities.
El Monte is located on very fertile land, but don’t take my word for it. Locals claim that you could grow pretty much anything here in El Monte, with great success, too. Because of its geographical location between two sizable rivers, not only does El Monte benefit form having fertile soil for crops, but it is set up with great natural irrigation. The San Gabriel Valley is known for its agriculture industry, and El Monte is no exception.
The name “El Monte” may seem like a misnomer, because of its geographical location within the San Gabriel Valley. No mountain here! However, in an old Spanish dialect, “El Monte” translates to mean “the wood”, which makes a lot more sense due to the thickly wooded area that the Spanish explorers found when they made their way to this part of Southern California. This lush area was full of various species of trees, and because of the two rivers running through, the land that is now El Monte was seen to be a very “prime” location. After California was taken by the United States from Mexico after the Mexican-American War, the United States Government set up a township here to encourage the settlement of this area, and at that point it was named El Monte.
El Monte earned some claim to fame in the entertainment industry, being the filming location for a number of variety show productions. The El Monte Legion Stadium was the site where much of the filming took place during the 1950s, and this venue also became famous for hosting many well known rock-and-roll artists. Not only that, the El Monte Legion Stadium became known as the site that helped boost country music into popularity during the 1950s as well.
When it comes to education, El Monte is served by the El Monte Union High School District, the El Monte City School District, and the Mountain View School District. These three public school districts include over two dozen elementary schools, several middle schools, and seven high schools. A handful of private schools and charter schools are also available to students in El Monte. For students that need extra after-school help, local El Monte tutors are available. These local tutors meet one-on-one with each student and help them develop their skills, assisting them in reaching their educational goals.