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Lake Forest is a city in Orange County, California, United States. The population was 58,707 at the 2000 census.
The city was created in 1991. Residents voted to name the city Lake Forest, after an expensive gated residential community, denying the longer claim to the territory by the community of El Toro. Since being founded, it has expanded its limits to include the new communities of Foothill Ranch and Portola Hills. The multiplicity of names often creates confusion: some people in the Portola Hills neighborhood, for example, can receive mail addressed to them at Portola Hills, Lake Forest, or Trabuco Canyon.
The City of Lake Forest hosts the headquarters for hard-drive maker Western Digital and telecommunications software developer Greenlight Wireless Corporation.
In 1994, Kathryn McCullough became Mayor, the first African-American mayor of any city in Orange County.
Recent annexations
Folklore states that El Toro received its name over 100 years ago. Back when El Toro was farm country, there was allegedly a water well that many farmers used. A bull fell into the well and a sign was posted above the well stating, in Spanish, "The bull has fallen into the well." Over time, part of the sign fell off, leaving only "The bull." The railroads, whose tracks ran through the area, mistakenly thought the sign was the name of the town, and thus the area of El Toro was given its name.
The El Toro Marine Corps Air Station was located adjacent to El Toro in the city of Irvine. At one time, El Toro was considered a military town, but the city blossomed independently in the 1980s and 1990s and the base closed in 1999.
The city of Lake Forest has one high school, El Toro High School. The high school was opened in 1973. It has established itself as one of the top schools in Southern California. The mascot is a bull and its teams are known as the Chargers. School colors are blue and gold.
Geography
Lake Forest is located at (33.641642, -117.690733).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 32.7 km² (12.6 mi²). 32.3 km² (12.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.95%) is water.
El Toro/Lake Forest/Portola is located in the heart of the Saddleback Valley. It is also in the northern section of South Orange County.
It has two man-made unnamed lakes identified by the clubhouses on the lakes: the Beach and Tennis Club (Lake I) and the Sun and Sail Club (Lake II).
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 58,707 people, 20,008 households, and 14,745 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,814.8/km² (4,698.8/mi²). There were 20,486 housing units at an average density of 633.3/km² (1,639.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 76.02% White, 1.83% African American, 0.50% Native American, 9.70% Asian, 0.20% Pacific Islander, 7.51% from other races, and 4.24% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18.59% of the population.
There were 20,008 households out of which 39.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.1% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.3% were non-families. 19.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89 and the average family size was 3.31.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.0% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 33.3% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 8.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 96.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $67,967, and the median income for a family was $75,121. Males had a median income of $52,019 versus $37,100 for females. The per capita income for the city was $28,583. About 3.2% of families and 5.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.0% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over.
Government & Politics
Of the 40,352 registered voters in Lake Forest; 25.8% are Democrats and 53.4% are Republicans. The remaining 20.8% either declined to state political affiliation or are registered with one of the many minor political parties. Richard Dixon serves as Lake Forest's mayor and Mark Tettemer as Mayor Pro Tem. The three city council members are Kathryn Mc Cullough, Marcia Rudolph, and Peter Herzog.
Lake Forest is part of California's 48th congressional district, and is represented in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressman John Campbell.
External links
"Lake Forest, California"