The city was founded in 1874 by Thomas B. Elliott as Indiana Colony; the name Pasadena, a Chippewa word meaning “crown of the valley,” was adopted in 1875. In 1873, Dr. Daniel M. Berry of Indiana who was looking for a place in the country that could offer better climate to his patients, most of whom suffered from tuberculosis . Berry was an asthmatic and claimed that he had his best three nights sleep at Rancho San Pascual.  The newcomers were able to purchase a large portion of the property along the Arroyo Seco and on January 31, 1874, they incorporated the Indiana Colony. As a gesture of good will, Wilson added 2,000 acres (8 km2) of then useless highland property, part of which would become Altadena. At the time, the Indiana Colony was a narrow strip of land between the Arroyo Seco and Fair Oaks Avenue. On the other side of the street was Wilson’s Lake Vineyard development. After more than a decade of parallel development on both sides, the two settlements merged into the City of Pasadena.
(source: Wikipedia)