Lancaster, California Through Time enables the reader to explore the community's architectural legacy, which is constantly changing; although many of its earliest structures have disappeared or exist in dilapidated remains, a handful of architectural treasures have endured and are superbly illustrated via a wonderful scope of vintage photographs. Lancaster has been the institutional and community center of the Valley since the 1880s, the era of the famous Southern California "land boom." Previously considered an uninhabitable area, its history unfolded with the arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad (SPRR) route between San Joaquin Valley and Los Angeles Basin during the summer of 1876; just as a freeway does today, the construction of a railroad always meant development all along the route. This Lancaster from more than 130 years ago is also responsible for creating the Lancaster of today. What started as a small ranching and farming community soon became known throughout Southern California for its expansive fields of alfalfa and substantial poultry ranches, and then later its association with record-breaking aviation and aerospace achievements.