Signal Hill is a small, independent city in Los Angeles County that is completely surrounded by the city of Long Beach, about 20 miles south of downtown Los Angeles. It covers just 2.2 square miles and sits partly atop the hill that gives it its name. The city's history is inseparable from oil: on June 23, 1921, a wildcat well struck a major reservoir beneath the hill, and the Signal Hill field that followed became one of the most productive in the world, briefly blanketing the slopes in hundreds of derricks and helping California produce a quarter of the globe's oil. The city incorporated on April 22, 1924, at the height of that boom. Over the following century, Signal Hill transformed from an oilfield into a residential and commercial community, though petroleum infrastructure still intermingles with development across parts of the city. The hilltop, once dense with derricks, is now a public amenity: Hilltop Park sits at the summit with telescopes, public art, and views that reach the San Gabriel Mountains, downtown Los Angeles, and Santa Catalina Island. The city's population is about 11,800, and it is served by the Long Beach Unified School District, with two elementary schools within its limits. Despite its size, Signal Hill maintains its own government, police department, and park system, giving residents small-city services while living wholly inside the fabric of Long Beach, with its port, airport, transit, and cultural amenities all close by. Signal Hill suits people who want a self-governing, hillside community with views and a distinct identity — oil history included — without leaving the convenience and connectivity of one of Southern California's major coastal cities.