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C+History
History · Bell

Bell’s post office opened in 1898, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 38% of U.S. towns · #248 of 847 in California. What drives it

Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1896 on, and the census since 1930.

1898first post office
0on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
13famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bell’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Bell began

When was Bell founded?

1898

The Bell post office opened in 1898, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1913. Another post office, Obed (1892), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 7,884 in 19302020 census: 33,559128 years

How historic is Bell?

C+

More historic than 38% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Bell post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1913.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Bell’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bell is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #248 of 847 in California. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bell’s overall grade.
Founding era1898, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194016.8% of homes (±2.9) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%BNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical CA town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 38%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 71%

Few California towns list much on the Register (a typical California town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Bell’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (31% of California towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share (±2.9 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1913.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Bell’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

On the map since 18968 editions of the USGS map, 1896 to 1981. Watch Bell change.Old housesHalf of Bell’s homes were built before 1956.Famous sons and daughtersLarry Knechtel, Valentina and 11 more were born here.
★ What stands out · On the map

Bell on the map, 1896 to 1981

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bell. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Bell on the 1896 USGS mapBell on the 1902 USGS mapBell on the 1923 USGS mapBell on the 1936 USGS mapBell on the 1949 USGS mapBell on the 1964 USGS mapBell on the 1972 USGS mapBell on the 1981 USGS map1896Downey sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Bell.

The story

How Bell came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bell.

Read it all →

The Gabrieliño Indians migrated to the place now called Bell in 500 B.C. Spaniards have been living in this area of California since the mid-18th century. Among the early Spanish settlers was one of California's first families, the Lugos.

While stationed at Mission San Antonio de Padua near Salinas, California, Francisco Lugo's first California son, Antonio María Lugo was born in 1775, who would become Don Antonio María Lugo, Spanish aristocrat and soldier, who settled on 30,000 acres of land that encompasses the present-day City of Bell. In 1810, the king of Spain formally granted the land to Lugo as a reward for his military service and the acreage became known as Rancho San Antonio.

ChaptersEarly historyCityhoodOscar controversy2010 city official corruption scandal

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Famous people

13 famous people were born in Bell

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Larry KnechtelAmerican session musician · b. 1940
ValentinaAmerican drag performer · b. 1991
James HarperAmerican actor · b. 1948
M
Mark WhiteheadAmerican cyclist · b. 1961
Eileen AndersonAmerican politician · b. 1928
N
Neil FerrisAmerican football player · b. 1927
Timeline

Bell, 1892 to 1991

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1892Post officeThe Obed post office opens
  3. 1896On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1898Post officeThe Obed post office closes
  5. 1898Post officeThe Bell post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1910In the archiveGroup of strawberry pickers in a strawberry field in Bell, California, ca.1910 (CHS-1130)
  8. 1923In the archiveLos Angeles Central Manufacturing District map 1923
  9. 1940Born hereLarry Knechtel is born here
  10. 1948Born hereJames Harper is born here
  11. 1961Born hereMark Whitehead is born here
  12. 1991Born hereValentina is born here
By decade

Bell, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s–1920s2 items
Group of strawberry pickers in a strawberry field in Bell, California, ca.1910 (CHS-1130)c. 1910Group of strawberry pickers in a strawberry field in …Los Angeles Central Manufacturing District map 19231923Los Angeles Central Manufacturing District map 1923Map
1930s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Date unknown4 to date
Historic American Buildings Survey Photographed by Henry F. Withey June 1937 VIEW FROM NORTH EAST - Casa del Rancho San…Date?Historic American Buildings Survey Photographed by He…Historic American Buildings Survey Photographed by Henry F. Withey June 1937 VIEW FROM NORTHWEST. - Casa del Rancho San…Date?Historic American Buildings Survey Photographed by He…Historic American Buildings Survey Photographed by Henry F. Withey June, 1937 EAST FRONT + NORTH - Casa del Rancho San …Date?Historic American Buildings Survey Photographed by He…Casa del Rancho San Antonio, 6360 East GageDate?Casa del Rancho San Antonio, 6360 East Gage
Today6 recent
Logo of2024Logo ofBellMontageCA2011BellMontageCABell CA Library2010Bell CA LibraryFlag of2009Flag ofBell House22008Bell House2Bell House2008Bell House
Every building

Bell, building by building, 1922

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Bell fire insurance map, 1922, sheet 11922Sheet 1 of 20
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Group of strawberry pickers in a strawberry field in Bell, California, ca.1910 (CHS-1130)
Retake this viewGroup of strawberry pickers in a strawberry field in Bell, California, ca.1910 (CHS-1130), c. 1910

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Bell’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Bell, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00019401960198020002020Peak: 36,664

Between 7,884 and 36,664 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Bell’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Bell’s post office has been open since 1898. Another post office, Obed, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Obed
1892–1898
Bell
1898–today
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Walker
Gone or out of use
Bell Post Officepost officeCheli Air Force Stationmilitary

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Start Bell’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bell’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo4 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewGroup of strawberry pickers in a strawb…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

CudahyIts storyDCommerceIts storyDBell GardensIts storyC−Huntington ParkIts storyCVernonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMaywoodIts storyC

Questions about Bell’s history

What year was Bell founded?

The Bell post office opened in 1898, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1913.

How does Bell rank for history?

Bell is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #248 of 847 in California. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Bell?

17% of Bell’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1956.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (11), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.