Hermosa Beach got its start as many California cities did in the form of a land grant from the King of Spain, in 1822, to a loyal subject Antonio Ygnacio Avila. The rancho that resulted from this grant was called Rancho Sausal Redondo--the ranch of the round grove of willows. After Avila's death, his heirs sold the rancho to a wealthy Scot, Sir Robert Burnett, who arrived in Southern California just before the Civil War intending to buy land and raise sheep and cattle. In 1855 Burnett sold the land to another Scot, Daniel Freeman.

The 1880's brought about financial upheavals and prolonged drought, and Freeman began selling off portions of the ranch to pay his bills. By 1900, one E. B. Pomroy owned the greater part of the old rancho.

That year, a pair of railroad men and developers named Moses Sherman and Eli Clark purchased a 1500 acre tract of Pomroy's land. The two had built an empire of electric railroads and intended to extend one of them, the Los Angeles Pacific, down to the booming port of Redondo Beach. Since railroads needed passengers and freight, they decided to develop their tract and sell off land for homes and factories. The City of Hermosa Beach was laid out with the developers' railroad running down the middle of Hermosa Avenue and ending up at Redondo Pier.

Intended at first to be a resort town for summer visitors from Los Angeles (after all, who would want to live at the beach year round?), the tiny town grew and by the majority of one vote, incorporated in 1907 as the 19th city in the Los Angeles County.

The city grew and the boom of the 1920's brought in factories: a silk mill, a glass factory and a large tile plant. The product of the latter, Hermosa Tile, is still in demand among tile collectors. The stock market crash of 1929 signaled the end of the industrial period as all the factories closed and Hermosa felt the burden of the Depression as the rest of the nation did.

After the War, Hermosa experienced another boom in population as well as the city was now connected by roads to the rest of the area and people discovered the pleasures of relaxed beach side living. Over the years, Hermosa's residents have been as diverse as poet Robinson Jeffers, Presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan and the Nelson family--Ozzie and Harriet and the boys.

In 1987, as Hermosa celebrated its 80th anniversary, the Hermosa Beach Historical Society was founded. The city chartered the society and charged it with preserving the History of the City and its inhabitants. A museum was established, and it is open to the public free of charge on Saturdays and Sundays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. It is located below the gymnasium in the community center at 710 Pier Avenue.