Westminster is a city in Orange County, California. It was founded in 1870 by Rev. Lemuel Webber as a Presbyterian temperance colony. Its name is taken from the Westminster Assemblyof 1643, which laid out the basic tenets of the Presbyterian faith. Forseveral years of its early history, its farmers refused to grow grapesbecause they associated grapes with alcohol.
Westminster was incorporated in 1957, at which time it had 10,755 residents. Originally, the city was named Tri-City because it was the amalgamation of three cities: Westminster, Barber City, and Midway City. Midway City ultimately turned down incorporation, leaving Barber City to beabsorbed into the newly incorporated Westminster. The former BarberCity was located in the western portion of the current City ofWestminster.
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.
Westminster surrounds the unincorporated area of Midway City, exceptfor a small portion where Midway City meets Huntington Beach to thesouth.
A large number of Vietnamese refugees came to the city in the 1970s, settling largely in an area now officially named Little Saigon. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 88,207. Westminster won the All-America City Award in 1996.