Indigenous The
Tongva village of
Motuucheyngna was located in what is now Seal Beach in the area of the
Los Cerritos Wetlands. It was part of the greater area of
Puvungna, which was a major ceremonial and regional trading center for the Tongva and
Acjachemen. Villagers used ''
te'aats'' to travel out to villages on Pimu (
Santa Catalina Island) and other islands off the coast, now referred to as the
Channel Islands. In 2003, a burial site of the village was disturbed in a Seal Beach residential development, Hellman Ranch, that was met with opposition from the Tongva.
Anaheim Landing Beginning in the mid-1860s, the eastern area of what is now Old Town Seal Beach became known as
Anaheim Landing. A warehouse and wharf had been built on a small bay where Anaheim Creek emptied into the Pacific Ocean. It was established by farmers and merchants in the newly settled town of
Anaheim who wanted a closer, more convenient port to ship the wine they were vinting from their grapes, and also to receive shipped items they needed to help build homes, and buildings, in their new town. The site of Anaheim Landing is now registered as a
California Historical Landmark. In 1903 Los Angeles realtor Philip A. Stanton, very familiar with the area from his time selling land in Anaheim, and Huntington Beach, and also from representing the local real estate interests of banker (and Pacific Electric Railroad co-owner)
Isaias W. Hellman, put together a syndicate to lay out the town of Bayside on the land between Anaheim Landing and
Anaheim Bay and the eastern edge of
Alamitos Bay. It achieved some brief popularity, but the US entry into
World War I and the resulting restrictions on rubber and metal dramatically impacted the amusement area. After the war,
Prohibition impacted the town's value as an amusement resort. After 1920, the town's location on two bays, with many inlets to offload bootleg liquor, its small police department, and its location on the county line, allowed it to become a popular place for rumrunners, then gamblers. From 1928 to 1939, the town had as many as six gambling establishments on Main Street. In addition, most of Southern California's famous gambling ships (
Johanna Smith, Rose Isle, Johanna Smith II, SS Caliente, SS Tango, Showboat, Mt. Baker) operated off the Seal Beach, just over the line from Long Beach.
World War II In early 1944. during
World War II, the Navy purchased most of the land around Anaheim Landing to construct the
United States Navy's
Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach for loading, unloading, and storing of ammunition for the
Pacific Fleet, and especially those US Navy warships home-ported in
Long Beach and
San Diego. With closure of the
Concord Naval Weapons Station in Northern California, it has become the primary source of munitions for a majority of the
United States Pacific Fleet. The arrival of the Navy catalyzed a growth in population which eventually succeeded in shutting down Robertson's gambling operations. Surfing has always had a presence in Seal Beach. Newspaper advertisements showing surfers were part of Guy M. Rush's "Seal Beach" campaign of 1913. The town hosted the mainland's first surfing competition—it was at a private gathering of the annual Minnesota Picnic. But its popularity really took off after the war with the arrival of legendary surfer Blackie August, who taught many of the local kids how to surf. August's son, Robert, was one of the pair of surfers featured in the classic surf film,
Endless Summer. Local legends Jack Haley and Mike Haley were the winners of the first two national surfing championships. Image:SealBeach-1920.jpg|Seal Beach amusement park, 1920 File:Anaheim Landing aerial photo, Seal Beach, circa 1930s.jpg|Anaheim Landing aerial photo, circa 1930s File:Naval Ammunition and Net Depot, Seal Beach, California. (Aerial view of jetty and coastline.) - NARA - 295515.jpg|Naval Ammunition and Net Depot. Aerial view of
Anaheim Bay, WW2 era File:Anaheim Landing (P5470).jpg|Anaheim Landing 1891
Mid to Late 20th century In 1962, Seal Beach opened
Leisure World, one of the first age segregated communities in the U.S. that caters to people over 55.
21st century In 2002, a construction crew discovered the remnants of a large Tongva village and burial site while working on a project to construct a new gated community. The Heron Pointe project was picketed by members of the Tongva tribe who successfully mitigated development in the area. The tribal community, alongside the Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust, has continued to work to preserve the coastal environment.
2011 shooting The deadliest mass killing in Orange County history occurred in Seal Beach. On October 12, 2011, a
mass shooting took place at the local Salon Meritage hair
salon. Eight people inside the salon and one person in the parking lot were shot, and only one victim survived. The suspect in the shooting, 41-year-old Scott Evans Dekraai, was arrested without incident and charged with eight counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. Prior to the shooting, there had been only one murder in Seal Beach during the previous four years. ==Geography==