In 1810, Don Antonio Lugo, received a grant to a tract of land of some 29,514 acres. He named it Rancho San Antonio, probably after his birthplace, El Mission San Antonio de Padua, in 1775.

Rancho San Antonio lay just north of Juan Jose Dominguez Rancho San Pedro, the borderline approximately of today's Rosecrans Avenue in Compton, and ran north parallel with and adjacent to, the pueblo de Los Angeles. The eastern boundary lay somewhere along the ever changing Los Angeles river or as it was called the San Gabriel river.

Lugo maintained a home in the pueblo de Los Angeles, near the plaza and across from the church. He was alcalde (mayor) of Los Angeles, from 1816 to 1819, and a leader in most of the social functions of the time. Antonio Lugo received a patent from the United States government on July 24, 1847, which made him undisputed owner of Rancho San Antonio, which was Lynwood's birthplace.

After Lugo's death in 1860, the rancho was divided among his children, five boys and three girls. Guadalupe Lugo inherited the area now known as Lynwood. She later deeded the land to a man named Heldman, who later deeded it, in 1871 to M.A. Shields, the wife of J.H. Shields. It is not known whether Mrs. Shields was any relation to the Lugo's. Later, she deeded her interest to Slauson, a Los Angeles banker and a prominent figure in the early history of the Los Angeles area. Slauson Avenue, dividing the south Los Angeles industrial belt, was named for him.

In 1902, C.H. Sessions had acquired title of about 400 acres and established a dairy and creamery. His wife's maiden was Miss Lynne Wood and they all agreed to call the place "the Lynwood Dairy and Creamery" and it was located at what is now Sanborn and Long Beach Blvd. Later the Southern Pacific Railway had a siding here, which they called the ' Lynwood siding'. Henry Huntington organized another railroad company called the Pacific Electric Railroad in 1902. One of the lines, built in 1904 to 1905, ran from Los Angeles to Santa Ana, passing directly through the middle of Lynwood. In 1929 Pacific Electric installed a P.E. Depot on the corner of Long Beach Blvd. and Fernwood Avenue. That building still exists and plans are to make it into a historical monument. The PE Railway took up the Lynwood name from the dairy and creamery.

Later, seven gentlemen formed the Lynwood company and they brought excursions of potential buyers to Lynwood. They opened up 800 acres for 'suburban' home sites in 1913. The biggest attraction for lot buyers, who came on excursions and had lunch in a circus tent was free water. Residential lots, 100 x 800, were sold for $500 to $800 and the promoters promised to furnish buyers water free and to turn over to any city that might be formed, the entire debt-free water system.

H.V. Copeland was one of the seven members of Lynwood company and he built the first residence in Lynwood at Long Beach Blvd. and Imperial Hwy. The water pump the Copeland's used was near Court and Platt.

At the time of the dairy, there was not even a country road where Long Beach Blvd. is now. Many years later, Long Beach Blvd. was paved and became a main street in Lynwood.

Discovery of gold in 1848-1849 brought thousands of people west, suddenly creating a demand for food. Part of that food was cattle and Antonio Lugo was one of many ranchers to become wealthy from the sale of cattle. Later, the main business of the area was the dairy and creamery. Sugar beets accounted for a substantial amount of Lynwood's farming activity, although Lynwood farmers also raised an impressive amount of other products, particularly hay.

The families who first came to the Lynwood territory arrived in the late 1870's and early 1880's. The Abbott family was among the first settlers and Haymer Abbott built a house in 1889. Which has been relocated on the corner of Wright Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. (Century) in Ham Park . It was no great land rush that settled Lynwood. In 1918 the Lynwood company closed its sales office and the building was turned over to the residents for a community center. It was this building which served as the first city hall when voters approved incorporation on July 16 ,1921.

That first city hall was a wooden structure and one day caught fire, destroying a portion of the building. Repairs appeared to be too costly, so the city council decided to build an entirely new city hall. Lynwood voters passed a bond issue in 1927, authorizing the construction of a new edifice, a two-story brick building. The fire department occupied the southwest corner of the building, the police department had the north side and was adjacent to a spacious jail. The city clerk's office occupied the ground floor immediately opposite the entrance and a passage to its right led to the police department. The council chamber was a large room on the second floor. Court was also conducted in the council chamber. In 1963 a new city hall located on Bullis Road, was dedicated.

It is not known when the Lugo School District ( Lynwood's first school district) was formed. However, in the 1880s, the district bought an acre of ground at the corner of what was temple (now Bullis Road) and Cortland Street, a one room school house was built. By 1895 they built a more modern two-room structure equipped with a lofty tower and iron bell that rang. The one-room structure was moved down to the corner of Carlin and Bullis Road and converted into a residence. The Lynwood junior high (presently high school) was built in 1930 and has the distinction of being the only school in this district that was not condemned after the 1933 earthquakes. In 1934 the total registration in Lynwood schools was 1282, with 38 teachers, including one home teacher and one nurse-inspector. The system became known as the Lynwood School District at this time. Early in 1953 the Lynwood unified school district dedicated the new Lugo School, located on Pendelton, and there were several direct decedents of Antonio Maria Lugo present.

There are now nine elementary, 1 junior high, 1 high school, 1 continuation school, 1 opportunity program and 1 adult school in Lynwood and enrollment for grades kindergarten through 12th grades, have reached 13,083. Another junior high and another high school are needed. There are also 3 parochial schools, 1 Baptist and 1 seventh day Adventist schools in Lynwood.

In 1946, the city started issuing home occupation licenses. In 1952 the assessed valuation was 23 million dollars, there were 8000 dwellings and 12,000 registered voters. The fiscal year 1987-88 showed $785,545,000 assessed valuation and 14,485 registered voters. Construction of the Century Freeway (named the I-105 Glenn Anderson Fwy) had been talked about since 1958. This freeway replaced the Southern Pacific right-of-way. The LAMTA, Metro Green Line route began operations in September, 1995 and runs down the middle of the I-105 Glenn Anderson Fwy from Norwalk to El Segundo.

The population of Lynwood between 1921 and 1930 grew rather slowly by comparison to succeeding years. In 1921 there were about 786 persons living here, 1930 had 1326, in 1940 there were 10,986 and by 1960 population had increased to 31,614. As of June, 1988, population has climbed to 55,071.

After Lynwood's incorporation in 1921 the cities business and professional people set about the task of forming a chamber of commerce. In 1922, after much work, the chamber became a reality and its first office was located on Long Beach blvd., Between Sanborn and Beechwood. The chamber grew and prospered until the depression in 1929. Many businesses closed, money was scarce and the chamber became a casualty of the times and was dissolved. The chamber was dormant until 1946 when the business and professional community decided it was time to reestablish a chamber of commerce. John Jack Weaver, recently discharged from the US Navy as Lieutenant, was hired as the chambers first Executive Director. The Chamber was located on Long Beach Blvd. and Imperial Highway, in an old theater building. The Chamber has grown and is a viable force in the community. It is presently located at 3651 E. Imperial Highway, in the Home Bank building. Its spacious suite of offices contains a foyer, two executive offices, secretarial area, spacious conference room, store room and kitchen.

The Chamber is an information center and receives correspondence and telephone calls from all over the United States, requesting information about Lynwood. Every effort is made to answer the correspondence the same day it is received. The chamber works on many projects, promoting Lynwood and the business community.