Wilmington, a community in California’s Los Angeles Seaport region with a high concentration of industry and the third-largest oil field in the continental United States, has a large Latino and foreign-born population. Nearly 20 percent of Wilmington’s total land area is taken up by the refinery—about 3.5 times the open and accessible green space. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wilmington has one of the highest death rates in the Los Angeles area, exacerbated by elevated levels of industrial pollution.
It is home to Banning High School and ten other elementary and middle schools. Wilmington has six parks. Wilmington’s history dates back to the Spanish grant of land in 1784. It became an independent city in 1863 and was annexed by the City of Los Angeles in 1909. Of interest is the US Army headquarters in southern California and the drum battalion that was built to protect the future port of Los Angeles during the American Civil War.
