The Name Everyone Knows, but the Story Few Have Heard

Every day, thousands of people drive along Torrance Boulevard, pass signs welcoming them to Torrance, or mention the city in conversation.

But how many know the story of the man behind the name?

Jared Sidney Torrance was the businessman whose vision helped establish Torrance in 1912. Yet he never lived in the community—and he died only days before its residents voted to incorporate it as an official California city.

It's a remarkable twist in the history of a place that has grown into one of the South Bay's major communities.

A Businessman's Ambitious Vision

In the early 1900s, much of the land that would become Torrance was still part of the vast Dominguez family ranch.

Jared Sidney Torrance, a successful Pasadena businessman and investor, envisioned something very different for this area.

He wanted to develop a planned industrial community where factories, businesses, homes, and transportation systems would work together.

Torrance and his investors formed the Dominguez Land Company, acquiring approximately 3,500 acres of ranchland.

The location offered several advantages:

• Access to the expanding Pacific Electric Railway network.
• Proximity to the growing port at San Pedro.
• Large areas of relatively inexpensive land.
• Opportunities to attract manufacturing businesses and workers.

But creating a city from undeveloped land required much more than a collection of factories.

It required a plan.

A City Designed by a Famous Family

The Dominguez Land Company hired the Olmsted Brothers, a prominent landscape architecture firm, to plan the new community.

Their father, Frederick Law Olmsted, was one of the designers of New York City's Central Park.

The firm's Torrance plan provided separate areas for industry, commercial activity, and residential neighborhoods.

It also incorporated landscaped streets, a downtown district, and housing for workers and their families.

Architect Irving Gill was hired to design several important buildings and structures.

The groundbreaking for the new community took place in October 1912.

Interestingly, Jared Sidney Torrance initially objected to having the new city named after him.

After considerable discussion, however, the name Torrance was adopted.

For Nine Years, Torrance Wasn't Actually a City

Here's where the story becomes especially interesting.

Although Torrance was established as a planned community in 1912, it wasn't immediately incorporated as a municipality.

From 1912 through 1921, the community remained privately held under the Dominguez Land Company.

The company was responsible for much of the original development and infrastructure.

World War I and the resulting economic difficulties slowed the community's early growth.

By 1921, Torrance had a population of approximately 1,800 residents.

Residents were ready to decide whether their community should become an incorporated city with its own local government.

That decision would change Torrance permanently.

The Remarkable Vote of 1921

When residents went to the polls, the result was overwhelming.

Votes in favor: 355

Votes against: 11

Approximately 97% of votes cast favored incorporation.

But the man whose name the new city carried would never see that milestone.

According to the City of Torrance's official history, Jared Sidney Torrance died a few days before the incorporation vote.

He had already moved on to other development projects and had never made Torrance his home.

The community he helped create was about to become a self-governing city without him.

Torrance was formally incorporated in May 1921.

What Changed After Incorporation?

Incorporation meant that residents, rather than the private development company, would increasingly determine how local government operated.

The new city established a five-member Board of Trustees.

Among its earliest actions were:

• Establishing a volunteer fire department.
• Hiring a constable to provide local law enforcement.
• Allowing the Automobile Club of Southern California to install speed limit and stop signs.
• Adopting local ordinances, including a prohibition on spitting on sidewalks.

Those decisions might seem modest today, but they represented important early steps toward independent municipal government.

The new city also faced disputes with the Dominguez Land Company over public rights-of-way and unfinished infrastructure.

Becoming a city was a significant achievement, but it did not instantly resolve every challenge.

Why This History Still Matters

Torrance is often celebrated for its neighborhoods, schools, parks, manufacturing heritage, and international businesses.

But its origins tell another story: the transformation of a privately planned industrial settlement into a community governed by its own residents.

Jared Sidney Torrance supplied much of the original vision and business leadership.

The people who lived here ultimately decided what their community would become.

And that's perhaps the most interesting part of the story.

The man who gave Torrance its name never lived here. But the residents who did live here gave it a future.

Explore the complete story in the City of Torrance's official historical account.