Whittier Tutors Come To You

Twenty miles east from downtown Los Angeles, Whittier, California is considered a “Gateway City” linking Los Angeles, Orange County and the Pacific Ocean. Eager to claim California for the Spanish crown during the 18th century, soldiers and priests set out in 1769 to explore the land between Baja California and Monterey, which had already been discovered from the sea by Juan Cabrillo in 1542. Led by Captain Gaspar de Portolá and Franciscan Father Junipero Serra, the Spanish began laying claim to the land by building missions throughout the state. The fourth established mission, San Gabriel Arcángel was built in 1771 in the San Gabriel Valley. At about the same time, Jose Manual Lopez-Nieto, originally a soldier under the command of Portolá, began to amass a good deal of personal wealth including large herds of cattle. As a reward for his service he was granted 300,000 acres of land in what is now Los Angeles and Orange counties. Although Nieto lost about half of his land in a dispute with Mission San Gabriel, he still held nearly 200,000 acres covering several current cities such as Anaheim, Cerritos and Long Beach. Nieto settled on the land for the last twenty years of his life, building an adobe house in the small community of Los Nietos. At his death in 1804, Nieto broke up his land giving each of his four children a sizeable chunk including Rancho Los Alamitos, Rancho Cerritos, Rancho Bolsas and Rancho Los Coyotes.

By the time of the U.S. Mexican War much of Nieto’s land was owned by Pio Pico who gave it up when he fled to Mexico after the war. In 1867, German immigrant and sheep rancher Jacob F. Gerkens acquired 160 acres of Nieto’s old land through the U.S. Homestead Act and built a log cabin. Gerkens went on to be the first chief of police in Los Angeles. Later, Gerkens’ land went to a group of Quakers who hoped to establish a religious community. It was the Quakers who named the area Whittier, after esteemed Quaker poet John Greenleaf Whittier who even wrote a dedication titled “My Name I give to Thee” for the city. Today, a statue of Whittier stands in Central Park despite the fact he never set foot anywhere near Whittier. Like most of the surrounding communities, Whittier became a major citrus growing area for many decades. Today, Whittier is mostly a residential area with a diverse population.

A Whittier tutor can keep you ahead of the academic curve so you can take some time away from the books to enjoy the exciting things to do in Whittier and the greater Los Angeles region. Whittier may be best known as the home of 37th U.S. President Richard Nixon who attended and played football at both Whittier High School and Whittier College. It’s just a short drive from Whittier to the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda. The museum features a wide range of exhibits exploring subjects such as the Vietnam War, Life in the White House and Watergate. Visitors can also climb aboard Army One, the presidential helicopter used by Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon. The restored helicopter is the same one which transported Nixon away from the White House after his resignation in August of 1974.

For those who lean green nearby Cal State Fullerton, a few miles south of Whittier, is home to the Fullerton Arboretum, a 26-acre botanical garden featuring over 4,000 plants from all over the world. Opened in 1979, the arboretum’s collection includes plants from three different ecosystems, woodlands, Mediterranean and desert. The arboretum also offers rotating exhibits, community gardens, children’s garden and museum.