California note
La Palma was once Dairyland, and the old name still explains a lot
La Palma began as Dairyland, with dairies packed into a small Orange County city before the name changed and civic spaces filled in.
La Palma was not always called La Palma. In 1955, the city was incorporated as Dairyland, and the name fit. At one point, 18 dairies fit into only 1.76 square miles. That is a lot of dairy life packed into a very small Orange County place.
The dairies later moved, and the city changed its name to La Palma in 1965. The new name pointed to Orange County’s Spanish heritage and to La Palma Avenue, the city’s main street. That name change also marked a larger shift from farm and dairy land toward a planned suburban city.
The Civic Center and Central Park became early public anchors. They helped give the small city a civic heart as homes, services, and local gathering places filled in around the older farm pattern.
This history makes La Palma easier to picture. It is a quiet, compact city today, but its old name tells you what came before: cows, dairies, family farms, then a careful turn toward parks, civic buildings, and neighborhood life.
Where to see it
La Palma Civic Center, Central Park, and La Palma Avenue.
Sources
Sources for this story
Reviewed July 2, 2026
Public sources for the places, events, and details above.
Connected places
Open the local directory
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