School Kid's Page

About Our City

This website is the official website of the City of Daly City. There is a lot of information here, but if you need help finding more information, a librarian at the Daly City Public Library can help you.

How Daly City Become a City

In the famous earthquake of 1906, many people in San Francisco lost their homes. There were so many people without a place to live that some of them decided to leave the city to find a place to camp. Many went south to stay on a dairy farm owned by John D. Daly, which was then around the top of the hill where today John Daly Boulevard ends at Mission Street. Back then, this area was known as Vista Grande and there were only about 50 people living here.

In the next few years, there were so many people here that some community leaders thought that we needed to incorporate (join together to become a city) so that we could have rules, firefighters, police officers, and such to serve the growing community. There was a vote about whether to become a city on March 18, 1911, and 138 people voted for it and 136 people voted against it. Because John D. Daly had helped the people who came to the area, they decided to name the new city after him. He was so happy that he gave a flower to every woman in the city.

Who's in Charge

A city needs people in charge to make decisions and other people to take care of the people that live in the city. The people of the city vote to decide who will be in charge. The people that are chosen become members of the City Council. There are five people on the Daly City City Council. The five Council members choose one from their group to be the mayor. These people vote on city laws. The City Council hires a City Manager to be in charge of all the City departments and keep the City running.