Glendora is a city in the San Gabriel Valley in Los Angeles County, 25 miles (40 km) northeast of Downtown Los Angeles. As of the 2020 census, the population of Glendora was 52,558. World-famous Route 66 runs through the city. Like many of its neighbors, Glendora was founded during the Southern California real estate boom of the 1880s.

Known as the "Pride of the Foothills", Glendora is nestled in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. Its downtown area, locally known as the Glendora Village, hosts dozens of restaurants, cafes, shops, and boutiques along Glendora Avenue with many community events scheduled throughout the year.

Neighborhoods and residences in Glendora reflect the city's history and range from Queen Annes, to Folk Victorians, early 20th-century bungalows, to ranch style homes, to mid-rise multi-family residential complexes, to modern mansions. Glendora's most expensive neighborhoods contain many very large, secluded, estate homes with views across the San Gabriel Valley to Downtown Los Angeles and beyond.

Glendora is bordered by Azusa and the unincorporated community of Citrus to the west, San Dimas to the east and south, Covina and the unincorporated community of Charter Oak to the south, and the San Gabriel Mountains, including protected areas within the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, to the north.

The first archaeological evidence of human settlement in Glendora dates from c. 6000 BCE. Around 3500 BCE, the Takic people moved into the area. By the time Europeans arrived in present-day Los Angeles County, the Tongva, also known as the Kizh or the Gabrieleños, were the dominant group.

In the foothills and inland areas (such as present-day Glendora), Tongva settlement patterns included both permanent village sites and seasonal camps, usually located near reliable water sources like streams or springs. The nearest villages to modern Glendora were Asuksa-nga (meaning "Skunk-place") along the San Gabriel River in present-day Azusa and Duarte, and Momwamomutn-gna (meaning "Place of many springs") in present-day San Dimas. What is now Glendora was the site of seasonal camps and hunting grounds, particularly near the intermittent streams around Dalton Canyon.

Tongva daily life was closely tied to the land's resources. They were primarily hunters and gatherers rather than farmers. The abundant oak woodlands of the San Gabriel foothills provided acorns as a dietary staple; acorns were shelled, ground on stone mortars, and leached to make a nourishing acorn mush. Along rivers and marshes, Tongva people gathered wild seeds such as chia sage, berries, and herbs. In inland communities like the Glendora area, protein came from hunting and trapping local game like deer, rabbits, and birds. Trade with neighboring tribes was well-developed; the Tongva were notable as one of the wealthiest and most influential indigenous groups in Southern California, exchanging goods like steatite (soapstone) bowls, shells, and other items in a far-reaching trade network. This network connected them with peoples as far away as the Yokuts of the Central Valley and the tribes of the Colorado River, illustrating how Tongva economic and cultural influence extended beyond their immediate homeland.

Daily life in a Tongva village was structured around communal and familial activities. Tongva dwellings (called kich or kiiğa) were dome-shaped structures made of willow branches and thatched with tule or other grasses. These homes had a central fire pit and a smoke hole at the top for ventilation. Villages typically ranged from a few dozen to a hundred people, and early Spanish observers noted that each village was politically autonomous under its own chief, yet linked to others by kinship and language. Men and women both had important economic roles: men often did most of the hunting and fishing, while women were expert foragers and skilled in processing plant foods and weaving baskets. Both sexes wore their hair long and adorned their bodies with tattoos and paint. Clothing was minimal in the warm Southern California climate—men often wore little more than a breechcloth, and women wore skirts made of deer hide or woven fiber. In cooler weather, they draped themselves in capes or cloaks made from animal skins, and sandals woven from yucca fiber or hide protected their feet. Tongva spiritual life was rich, with ceremonies marking events like the summer solstice and communal mourning rituals for the dead. They had deep knowledge of local plants for food, medicine, and materials, reflecting a relationship with the land that was both practical and spiritual.