Daly City has welcomed visitors since John D. Daly opened his Top of the Hill ranch to refugees fleeing the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire.

Incorporated in 1911, the city had fewer than 3,000 residents, many of whom worked on cabbage fields and hog ranches - but the city experienced a renaissance after Word War II.

In the post-war era, Henry Doelger started growing his Westlake housing development out toward the coast - it is now home to more than 22,000 of Daly City's 100,000 residents.

Today, with a major shopping center and BART station, the city has gone from the smallest to largest in the county.

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[San Mateo County Community College District]