General Law City
Incorporated: December 20, 1991
City Hall: 25550 Commercentre Dr, Lake Forest, CA 92630
City Telephones: (949) 461-3400; Fax (949) 461-3511
Internet: http://www.city-lakeforest.com
Population (2000 Census): 58,707 (1990 Census: 62,685) (For latest estimated population, click here)
Population Density (2000 Census): 4,700
Population Under Age 18 (2000 Census): 27.0% (1990 Census: 26.3%)
Population Over Age 64 (2000 Census): 8.6% (1990 Census: 6.9%)
Land Area: 12.49 square miles (32.36 square kilometers)
Water Area: 0.12 square miles (0.32 square kilometers)
Geographic Coordinates (Latitude/Longitude): 33.641642-117.690733

Lake Forest Chamber - South Orange County Chambers of Commerce: 26111 Antonio Parkway, Ste 400, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688; (949) 635-5800, Fax (949) 635-1635

An early document from 1838 refers to the area as parage del Toro because "there was a nice tame bull there." In 1884, Bostonian Dwight Whiting purchased much of the area as part of the former Mexican land grant Cañada de Los Alisos in order to develop an English village named Aliso City. In 1888, the local post office adopted the old name El Toro (although the spelling was Eltoro until 1904) because the name Aliso was deemed too similar to other community names at the time.  The area remained largely remained agricultural until the opening of El Toro Marine Corps Air Station in 1943 which subsequently brought about a great deal of community growth. The city adopted the name Lake Forest upon incorporation in 1991. The Marine Corps base closed in 1999.

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