to
Update
is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, south-southeast of downtown Los Angeles. The city was incorporated in 1888. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 93,493. An inner suburb of Los Angeles, Compton has a reputation of one of the most dangerous inner city/suburban areas in the United States. In the last few years, Compton has seen an increase of middle-class residents due to its cheap houses and a decline in crime. In recent years, there's been an influx of white and Asian families moving in some areas of Compton due to the process of gentrification and revitalization.
In 1784, the Spanish Crown deeded a tract of over 75,000 acres (304 km²) to Juan Jose Dominguez in this area. The tract was named Rancho San Pedro. Dominguez's name was later applied to the Dominguez Hills community south of Compton. The tree that marked the original northern boundary of the rancho still stands at the corner of Poppy and Short streets. The rancho was sub-divided and parcels were sold within the Californios of Alta California until the lands were ceded after the Mexican-American war in 1848. American immigrants acquired most of the rancho lands after 1848.
In 1867, Griffith D. Compton led a group of American settlers to the area in search of the mild climate. The city was incorporated on May 11, 1889 and was named for Griffith D. Compton.
Compton grew quickly in the mid-1900s. In the late 1940s with the dismantling of segregation, middle class African-Americans began moving into the area, mostly on the west side. One reason for this was Compton's proximity to Watts, where a significant number of Blacks lived at the time. However, the eastern side of the city remained predominantly white into the 1970s. Despite being located in the middle of a major metropolitan area, there remains at least one small pocket of agriculture from its early years.