Santa Fe Springs

Santa Fe Springs is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is one of the Gateway Cities of southeast Los Angeles County. The population was 16,223 at the 2010 census, down from 17,438 at the 2000 census.GeographySanta Fe Springs is located at.According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.9sqmi. 8.9sqmi of it is land and 0.04sqmi of it (0.45%) is water.It is bordered by the unincorporated West Whittier-Los Nietos to the north, Pico Rivera to the northwest, Downey to the west, Norwalk to the southwest, Cerritos to the south, La Mirada and the unincorporated South Whittier to the east, and Whittier to the northeast.HistoryJunípero Serra had started some missions in this area, especially the San Gabriel mission. By 1806, the natives, now called Gabrielanos than Sejats, provided labor for the mission.Corporal José Manuel Nieto, then 65 year old, petitioned Pedro Fages, the Governor, for a little land. In 1789, Fagas received official permission for the grant. Nieto's was one of the largest at 300000acre acres, from the Pacific Ocean to the Puente Hills. This became known as the "Rancho La Zanja", to which he moved with his wife Teresa and his son, Juan José. This area soon became a large cattle empire, and later would be the Santa Fe Springs area.