Fullerton was founded in the year 1887. On behalf of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway it secured the property. Historically it has been a center of agriculture, especially orange and other citrus groves in Valencia; extraction of petroleum; transportation; and produce. It is home to numerous institutions of higher education, including the California State University, Fullerton and Fullerton College. Fullerton was home to a large manufacturing base made up of aerospace contractors, canneries, producers of paper goods and it is considered the birthplace of the electric guitar.