Founded during the 1886 land boom in Southern California midway between the cities of Los Angeles and Pasadena, the original Highland Park Tract was part of the Rancho San Rafael. Highland Park was the first town to be annexed by Los Angeles, but it nonetheless retains a strong sense of its own identity and has taken a fiercely independent path. The community prides itself on its unique history, architecture, and diversity, and it has always been the home of artists and writers. One such resident was Charles Fletcher Lummis, who helped to preserve the history and culture of the land he dubbed "the Southwest."