Pomona is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It lies in the Pomona Valley, situated between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. As of the 2020 census, Pomona had a population of 151,713. The California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) main campus is partially located within the city limits, while the remaining area falls within the nearby unincorporated community of Ramona.
The Tongva people were the original inhabitants of the region. The city takes its name from Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit. The name "Pomona" was selected in 1875 by horticulturist Solomon Gates, despite no fruit trees being planted at the time. Ricardo Véjar and Ygnacio Palomares first settled the area in the 1830s during the Mexican era.
The arrival of Anglo-Americans began before 1848, when the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo made California part of the United States. In 1864, Ygnacio Palomares’ widow sold 12,000 acres to Louis Phillips, who became a leading figure and built the Phillips Block in Los Angeles, housing Hamburger’s department store.
