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How Pasadena was Named
Who discovered Pasadena?
Mail came to the Indiana Colony via Los Angeles so ear-marked. In an attempt to obtain their own Post Office, the Colony needed to change the name to something that the Postmaster General would consider more fitting. The town fathers put up three names to a vote. The first was Indianola. The second was Granada, to be in keeping with the areas Spanish heritage.
The third was proposed by Dr. Thomas Elliott who had contacted an Indian missionary friend of his in Michigan who had worked with the Minnesota Chippewa Indians. He submitted four names for translation: "Crown of the Valley," "Key of the Valley," "Valley of the Valley," and "Hill of the Valley." The names came back starting with "Weo-quan pa-sa-de-na," "Hat of the Valley" All the names ended in the "pa-sa-de-na (of the valley)" translation. On April 22, 1875, the name was put to the vote, and due to its euphonious nature, it was accepted, thus: Pasadena. Pasadena was the second incorporated municipality of Southern California next to Los Angeles in March 1886.