Torrance City Map Poster

About Torrance

The first recorded inhabitants of the Torrance area were members of the Native American Hahamog-na tribe, who lived in scattered villages. They spoke the Tongva language and had a civilization with a population estimated to have been between 1,500 and 2,000. They lived by hunting ocean mammals and gathering shellfish. In 1784 they were moved to Mission San Gabriel Arcangel in Southern California; many died on that journey or soon after arrival (see also: Anza Expedition). The Rancho Los Nietos grant was made for this purpose by Governor José Figueroa to Juan Jose Dominguez in 1839; it was named after one of these Tongva leaders ("Nieto" means "grandson", but is often used as a surname).