Norwalk is a suburban city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population is estimated to be 107,096 as of 2014. It is the 58th most densely-populated city in California.Founded in the late 19th century, Norwalk was incorporated as a city in 1957. It is located 17mi southeast of downtown Los Angeles and is part of the Greater Los Angeles area.Norwalk is a member of the Gateway Cities Council of Governments. Norwalk's sister cities are Morelia, Michoacán, and Hermosillo, Sonora, in Mexico.HistoryThe area known as "Norwalk" was first home to the Shoshonean Native American tribe. They survived primarily on honey, an array of berries, acorns, sage, squirrels, rabbits and birds. Their huts were part of the Sejat Indian village.In the late 1760s, settlers and missions flourished under Spanish rule with the famous El Camino Real trail traversing the area. Manuel Nieto, a Spanish soldier, received a Spanish land grant (Rancho Los Nietos) in 1784 that included Norwalk.After the Mexican-American War in 1848, the Rancho and mining days ended. Portions of the land were subdivided and made available for sale when California was admitted into the union of the United States. Word of this land development reached the Sproul Brothers in Oregon. They recalled the fertile land and huge sycamore trees they saw during an earlier visit to the Southern California area. In 1869, Atwood Sproul, on behalf of his brother, Gilbert, purchased 463acre of land at $11 an acre ($2700/km²) in an area known as Corazon de los Valles, or "Heart of the Valleys".
