La Verne is a city in Los Angeles County, California, with a population of 31,334 as of the 2020 census. The area was originally home to Native Americans and later became part of Rancho San José, a 15,000-acre land grant given in 1837 to Ygnacio Palomares and Ricardo Véjar. Palomares built several adobe homes, including La Casa Primera de Rancho San Jose, which is still preserved in Pomona.
In the mid-1880s, Isaac W. Lord purchased part of the land and persuaded the Santa Fe Railroad to build a line through the area. He developed building lots and founded the town of Lordsburg in 1887, including the Lordsburg Hotel. The town was later purchased by members of the German Baptist Brethren Church, who established Lordsburg College in 1891. The town was incorporated as La Verne in 1906. Residents initially grew field crops and later citrus, earning the area the nickname “Heart of the Orange Empire.” The citrus industry thrived until after World War II, and two historic orange groves remain today.









