Westminster, California

Westminster is a city in northern Orange County, California. It is known for a large number of Vietnamese refugees who immigrated to the city during the 1980s,[9] settling largely in the area now officially named Little Saigon, and the city is unofficially known as the "capital" of overseas Vietnamese with 36,058 Vietnamese Americans and at 40.2% (2010), the highest municipal prevalence of Vietnamese Americans.

Westminster is landlocked and bordered by Seal Beach on the west, by Garden Grove on the north and east, and by Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley on the south. Santa Ana, the county seat of Orange County, is right next to Westminster on the east but is divided by a small part of Garden Grove.

Westminster was founded in 1870 by Rev. Lemuel Webber as a Presbyterian temperance colony. The name is derived from the Westminster Assembly of 1643, which established the basic tenets of the Presbyterian faith. During the early years of its history, farmers refused to harvest grapes since they associated grapes with alcohol.

Wilseyville, California

Wilseyville is an unincorporated community in Calaveras County, California. It lies at an elevation of 2769 feet (844 m). Wilseyville's post office was established in 1947;[2] it has the zip code 95257. Wilseyville was named after Lawrence A. Wilsey, an executive at the American Forest Products Company.[2]

Wilseyville is notorious for being the location of the cabin where serial killers Leonard Lake and Charles Ng killed and disposed of some of their victims. Their spree ended in June 1985, when Ng was spotted loading stolen merchandise into a car driven by Lake in South San Francisco. Ng fled, but Lake was arrested at the scene for illegally outfitting a .22 caliber pistol with a silencer. He swallowed a cyanide pill while in police custody and died four days later. Police found human remains and other evidence at the Wilseyville cabin and began a manhunt for Ng. He was arrested in Canada for shoplifting and was extradited to the United States after serving a sentence in Canada. Ng was sentenced to death after being found guilty on 11 of 12 counts of murder. It was later ruled that Lake and Ng were responsible for the 12th victim, though they are thought to have killed as many as 25 people.

Woody Harrelson

Woodrow Tracy Harrelson[1][2] (born July 23, 1961)[3] is an American actor, comedian, and playwright. His breakout role came in 1985 as bartender Woody Boyd in the television sitcom Cheers, for which he earned five Emmy Award nominations, winning one in 1989. In film, he is best known for his portrayals of basketball hustler Billy Hoyle in White Men Can't Jump (1992), serial killer Mickey Knox in Natural Born Killers (1994), magazine publisher Larry Flynt in The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996), Tallahassee in Zombieland (2009), Capt. Tony Stone in The Messenger (2009), Dave Brown in Rampart (2011), Haymitch Abernathy in The Hunger Games film series (2012–2015), magician/mentalist Merritt McKinney in the Now You See Me film series (2013–2019), the Colonel in War for the Planet of the Apes (2017), and Sheriff Bill Willoughby in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017).

Harrelson has been nominated for an Academy Award three times; he was nominated for Best Actor for The People vs. Larry Flynt and Best Supporting Actor for The Messenger and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.[4]

Harrelson was born in 1961 in Midland, Texas, to Diane (née Oswald) and Charles Voyde Harrelson.[3] He and his two brothers, Jordan and Brett Harrelson, were raised in a Presbyterian household.[3][5] His father, Charles Harrelson, was a convicted contract killer, who received a life sentence for the 1979 killing of Federal Judge John H. Wood Jr. in San Antonio, Texas;[6] Harrelson has stated that his father was rarely around growing up.[5] He died in the United States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility on March 15, 2007.[6] The family was poor, reliant on his mother's secretary wage.[5] In 1973, Harrelson moved to his mother's native city, Lebanon, Ohio,[7] where he attended Lebanon High School.[8] He spent the summer of 1979 working at Kings Island amusement park.[9]

Westmorland, California

Westmorland (formerly, Westmoreland)[5] is a city in Imperial County, California. Westmorland is located 8.5 miles (14 km) southwest of Calipatria.[5] The population was 2,225 at the 2010 census, up from 2,131 in 2000. It is part of the El Centro Metropolitan Area.

Westmorland is on State Route 86, which was upgraded to a new six-lane highway to reduce its infamous auto accident and fatality risk, while it connects with Brawley, El Centro and Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico.

Westmorland is below sea level and sits behind a number of active faults. Seismic activity has been recorded several times during the 20th century, with tremors occurring in 1907, 1916, 1925, 1940, 1948, 1965 and 1979. The 1987 Superstition Hills event caused serious damage in Westmorland and the Imperial Valley.

Wilton, California

Wilton is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sacramento County, California, United States. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,363 at the 2010 census, up from 4,551 at the 2000 census.

Wilton is located at 38°24′34″N 121°13′27″W / 38.40944°N 121.22417°W / 38.40944; -121.22417 (38.409556, -121.224264).[2] According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 29.0 square miles (75 km2), all of it land.

Because some areas of Wilton are in a flood zone, you will see some water in the streets during the rainy season. In 1997, an El Nino/La Nina year, levees broke and some homes were flooded to the rooftops.

Wrightwood, California

Wrightwood is a census-designated place in San Bernardino County, California. It sits at an elevation of 5,935 feet (1,809 m). The population was 4,525 at the 2010 census,[3] up from the population of 3,837 at the 2000 census.[4] Wrightwood is located 77 miles northeast of Los Angeles.[5]

Located in a pine covered valley in the San Gabriel Mountains, the area was first developed as cattle ranches in the 19th century by Nathan and Truman Swarthout, then later the main ranch, owned by Sumner Wright was broken up into residential and commercial lots and by the 1920s a community took roots. Early ski enthusiasts discovered the north facing slopes of the San Gabriels above the Swarthout Valley. Until 1937 the ski area, originally known as Big Pines were part of a Los Angeles County Park. As highways were developed coming out of the major routes in the Cajon Pass, Wrightwood became an easy destination, with no serious mountain driving required for city dwellers. Through the last 60 years, Wrightwood has evolved from a vacation community to home to over 4000 full-time residents. Thirty-five years ago, parents realized they wanted their students closer to home and the result was Serrano High School, that serves not only Wrightwood but neighboring communities of Phelan and Pinon Hills. At nearly 6000 feet in elevation, its valley is protected by the Blue Ridge to the South.

The 2010 US Census[3] reported that Wrightwood had a population of 4,525. The population density was 763.2 people per square mile (294.7/km²). The racial makeup of Wrightwood was 4,126 (91.2%) White (83.4% Non-Hispanic White),[9] 38 (0.8%) African American, 28 (0.6%) Native American, 51 (1.1%) Asian, 7 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 112 (2.5%) from other races, and 163 (3.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 538 persons (11.9%).

Westport, Ontario

The village of Westport was incorporated as an independent municipality in 1904. Surrounded by the Township of Rideau Lakes, within Leeds County, Westport is Ontario's smallest municipality (by land area).

The first settlers to the Westport area arrived in the period between 1810 and 1820. The land on which Westport now sits was originally granted by the Crown to a Mr. Hunter, but he never settled in the area and it was eventually purchased by Reuben Sherwood in 1817. Some of this land was later purchased by the Stoddard and Manhard families. The small community was known as Head of the Lake. In 1828, Stoddard built a saw mill and in 1829 the Manhards built a saw mill and grist mill. It became known at that time as Manhard's Mills. Two local merchants, Aaron Chambers and Lewis Cameron, named the village Westport in 1841, the name reflecting its location at the west end of Upper Rideau Lake. The village of Westport was incorporated in 1904 when it separated from North Crosby Township.[3]

Like much of the surrounding area, Westport received a large number of Irish immigrants in the 1840s through the 1860s, following the Great Famine. St. Edward's Catholic Church at the corner of Concession and Bedford, built in 1859, was an early cultural centre for the largely Catholic Irish immigrants.

Winchester, California

Largely rural for most of its history, and home to agricultural businesses including the Winchester Cheese Company, Winchester experienced rapid growth during the housing construction boom in the early-to-mid 2000s. However, construction and growth slowed when the housing bubble burst in 2007, resulting in a housing market correction. The mid-to-late 2010s saw housing prices in Winchester recover and construction resumed, with new subdivisions, schools, and parks being built.

The 2010 United States Census[5] reported that Winchester had a population of 2,534. The population density was 327.7 people per square mile (126.5/km²). The racial makeup of Winchester was 1,577 (62.2%) White, 38 (1.5%) African American, 17 (0.7%) Native American, 46 (1.8%) Asian, 2 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 728 (28.7%) from other races, and 126 (5.0%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1,233 persons (48.7%).

There were 769 households, out of which 326 (42.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 425 (55.3%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 94 (12.2%) had a female householder with no husband present, 53 (6.9%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 54 (7.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 6 (0.8%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 149 households (19.4%) were made up of individuals and 71 (9.2%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.30. There were 572 families (74.4% of all households); the average family size was 3.78.

Yermo, California

Yermo is a town in the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County, California. Its name is derived from one of the Spanish words for "wilderness".[2][3] It is 13 miles east of Barstow on Interstate 15, just south of the Calico Mountains. Its population was an estimated 1,750 in 2009.

Founded in 1902 and originally named Otis, Yermo is situated at a division point of the Union Pacific Railroad line.[3] A post office was established three years later with William J. Flavin serving as Yermo's first postmaster.[3] The town later developed around serving motorists traveling the Arrowhead Trail (later U.S. Route 91), which ran through the community.

Today, Yermo is governed by an elected five-member board of directors comprising the Community Services District authorized by the County of San Bernardino. The board, which meets monthly, oversees the town's volunteer fire department, the Yermo/Calico VFD, as well as its street lighting, parks and water system. Yermo's ZIP Code is 92398, and it is in telephone area codes 442 and 760. Its USPS branch provides post office boxes to local residents and businesses; there is no letter-carrier service.

Westwood, California

Westwood is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lassen County, California, United States. Westwood is located 20 miles (32 km) west-southwest of Susanville,[3] at an elevation of 5,128 feet (1,563 m).[2] The population was 1,647 at the 2010 census, down from 1,998 at the 2000 census. Westwood is the hometown of mythical logger Paul Bunyan.

Westwood was built by T. B. Walker to be the operations center for the Red River Lumber Company in 1913.[3][5][6] The first post office opened the same year.[3] The Red River Lumber Company is credited as being "the world's largest electrical sawmill of the times."[7] Red River Lumber Company also operated one of the first electric railways in the state built in 1927.[8] The mill was equipped with the most modern equipment for its time;[9] and the surrounding territory was crisscrossed by forest railways bringing logs to the mill. The railway shop at Westwood was home to 2-8-0 #102 and 2-8-2 #104 when forest railway operations ceased in the early 1950s.[10] The four woods engines scrapped in 1953 were 2-6-0 number 1, 2-6-2 number 2, 2-8-2 number 3, and 3-truck Shay locomotive number 4.[11]

William Laughead, an advertising copywriter who had once worked in lumber camps, took the stories of an old lumberjack and reworked them into the modern character. He sold the stories of Paul Bunyan and his Blue Ox "Babe" to the Red River Lumber Company, which published "Introducing Mr. Paul Bunyan of Westwood, California" in 1916 as an advertising pamphlet.[12] Among other things, Laughead gave the name "Babe" to the blue ox, originated the idea that Paul Bunyan and Babe were of enormous size, and created the first pictorial representation of Bunyan.[12]