Garden Grove has interesting beginning roots when Spanish soldiers, commanded by Gaspar de Portola, first discovered Orange County as they made their way north across California in 1769. During their journey, the soldiers camped on a wide grassy plain east of present day Garden Grove. They named the area the Santa Ana Valley and claimed the state of California as a possession of Spain. It was later divided into ranchos as some of the soldiers settled in the area.

In 1822, Mexico gained independence from Spain, and California became a province of Mexico. It was the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, at the end of the Mexican-American War, that made all of California a territory of the United States of America. In 1850, California became the 31st state in the union.

World War II had an important impact on Garden Groves growth. Servicemen who had visited California during their training for war came back to settle and raise their families. The communities rural nature changed to a more modern society when land and low prices caused a sudden building boom. Garden Grove became the fastest growing city in the nation in the 1950s.