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C−History
History · Blythe

Blythe’s post office opened in 1882

More historic than 21% of U.S. towns · #446 of 847 in California. What drives it

Most of Blythe was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Below: 30 old photos and papers, maps from 1917 on, and the census since 1920.

1882first post office
0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
30old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Blythe’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Blythe began

When was Blythe founded?

1882

The Blythe post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,622 in 19202020 census: 18,317144 years

How historic is Blythe?

C−

More historic than 21% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Blythe’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Blythe is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #446 of 847 in California. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Blythe’s overall grade.
Founding era1882, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19404.0% of homes (±1.8) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%CNational 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 21%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 47%

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 Blythe’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 still be C−. The pre-1940 share (±1.8 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

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 Blythe’s past

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

A town in old photos30 old photos, postcards and papers, 1900–1972.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1920 and 1930, then grew more than tenfold.
★ What stands out · By decade

Blythe, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1930s9 items
BlytheCAc. 1900BlytheCACalifornia1917CaliforniaAT & Sta Fe California Southern Railroad - Ripley Branch1931AT & Sta Fe California Southern Railroad - Ripley Bra…Dorothea Lange, Drought refugees from Oklahoma camping by the roadside, Blythe, California, 19361936Dorothea Lange, Drought refugees from Oklahoma campin…Drought refugees from Oklahoma camping by the roadside, 8b384811936Drought refugees from Oklahoma camping by the roadsid…Drought refugees from Oklahoma camping by the roadside, 8b38481a1936Drought refugees from Oklahoma camping by the roadsid…Mother and nursing child detail, from- Dorothea Lange, Drought refugees from Oklahoma camping by the roadside, Blythe, …1936Mother and nursing child detail, from- Dorothea Lange…Church near Blythe, California1936Church near Blythe, CaliforniaDrought refugees from Oklahoma camping by the roadside. They hope to work in the cotton fields. There are seven in fami…1936Drought refugees from Oklahoma camping by the roadsid…
1940s–1960snothing 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
1970s21 items
(FROM THE DOCUMERICA-1 EXHIBITION. FOR OTHER IMAGES IN THIS ASSIGNMENT, SEE FICHE NUMBERS 87, 88, 106, 107, 108, 109, 1…1972(FROM THE DOCUMERICA-1 EXHIBITION. FOR OTHER IMAGES I…BIRD IN FARMLAND BUSH1972BIRD IN FARMLAND BUSHBOAT ON THE COLORADO RIVER1972BOAT ON THE COLORADO RIVERBOATING ON THE COLORADO RIVER BELOW PARKER DAM1972BOATING ON THE COLORADO RIVER BELOW PARKER DAMBOATING ON THE COLORADO RIVER BELOW PARKER DAM1972BOATING ON THE COLORADO RIVER BELOW PARKER DAMBOATING ON THE COLORADO RIVER BELOW PARKER DAM1972BOATING ON THE COLORADO RIVER BELOW PARKER DAMBOATING ON THE COLORADO RIVER OFF PARKER "STRIP", A POPULAR RECREATIONAL SPOT BELOW PARKER DAM1972BOATING ON THE COLORADO RIVER OFF PARKER "STRIP", A P…BURNING THE STRAW CLEARS THE FIELD IN 25 MINUTES, AND ENABLES THE FARMER TO PLANT ANOTHER CROP. THIS METHOD IS... - NAR…1972BURNING THE STRAW CLEARS THE FIELD IN 25 MINUTES, AND…CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME BIOLOGIST CHECKS SAMPLE TAKEN FROM COLORADO RIVER FOR OXYGEN CONTENT1972CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME BIOLOGIST CHECKS SAMPLE TAKE…CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME BIOLOGISTS TAKE WATER SAMPLES FROM "GOOSE FLATS" SECTION OF THE COLORADO RIVER. THEY TEST... -…1972CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME BIOLOGISTS TAKE WATER SAMPLE…CHECKERBOARD FIELDS OF CALIFORNIA'S IMPERIAL VALLEY ARE FED BY COLORADO RIVER. THE DRAINAGE FROM THEM FLOWS INTO THE...…1972CHECKERBOARD FIELDS OF CALIFORNIA'S IMPERIAL VALLEY A…CIROLA TOLL BRIDGE CROSSES THE COLORADO RIVER1972CIROLA TOLL BRIDGE CROSSES THE COLORADO RIVERCOLORADO RIVER SEEN FROM THE AIR. HARNESSING THE COLORADO HAS RESULTED IN THE RECLAMATION OF VAST TRACTS OF DESERT... -…1972COLORADO RIVER SEEN FROM THE AIR. HARNESSING THE COLO…COTTON FARMER, JOHN VANDERSLICE, AND HIS DAUGHTER STAND ON NEWLY PLANTED FIELD1972COTTON FARMER, JOHN VANDERSLICE, AND HIS DAUGHTER STA…Crop duster plane over Imperial Valley farms1972Crop duster plane over Imperial Valley farmsDESERT CACTUS PLANT PAINTED ON HOUSE WALL1972DESERT CACTUS PLANT PAINTED ON HOUSE WALLDESERT REAL ESTATE1972DESERT REAL ESTATEDIVERSION DAM ON COLORADO RIVER1972DIVERSION DAM ON COLORADO RIVERDIVERSION DAM ON THE COLORADO RIVER BELOW PARKER, ARIZONA1972DIVERSION DAM ON THE COLORADO RIVER BELOW PARKER, ARI…DIVERSION DAM ON THE COLORADO RIVER, NORTH OF NEEDLES1972DIVERSION DAM ON THE COLORADO RIVER, NORTH OF NEEDLESDON MADISON, WITH HIS "IMPERIAL ROCK SHOP", 14 MILES WEST OF EL CENTRO. BYPASSED BY INTERSTATE 8, MADISON'S BUSINESS HA…1972DON MADISON, WITH HIS "IMPERIAL ROCK SHOP", 14 MILES …
1980s–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
People over time

Blythe, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,0001920194019601980200020201,622 in 1920Low: 1,020

Lost a third of its people between 1920 and 1930, then grew more than tenfold.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

The story

How Blythe came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Blythe.

Read it all →

Blythe was named after Thomas Henry Blythe, a San Francisco businessman and entrepreneur. Blythe established primary water rights to the Colorado River in the southwestern California region in 1877. The town was originally named Blythe City, by Thomas Blythe, but the name was shortened to simply Blythe around the time the first post office was opened in 1908.

ChaptersEtymologyEarly years20th century21st century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Blythe, 1882 to 2010

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1882Post officeThe Blythe post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900In the archiveBlytheCA
  5. 1917In the archiveCalifornia
  6. 1926Born hereFrankie Ervin is born here
  7. 1931In the archiveAT & Sta Fe California Southern Railroad - Ripley Branch
  8. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1954Born hereGary Goddard is born here
  10. 1959Born hereTony Eason is born here
  11. 1972In the archive(FROM THE DOCUMERICA-1 EXHIBITION. FOR OTHER IMAGES IN THIS ASSIGNMENT, SEE FICHE NUMBERS…
  12. 1988Born hereAndrew Cancio is born here
  13. 21st century
  14. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 20,817
On the map

Blythe on the map, 1951 to 1970

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

Blythe on the 1951 USGS mapBlythe on the 1970 USGS map1951Blythe sheet · 1:24,000

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

Every building

Blythe, building by building, 1917

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.

Blythe fire insurance map, 1917, sheet 11917Sheet 1 of 2
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.

BlytheCA
Retake this viewBlytheCA, c. 1900

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

4 famous people were born in Blythe

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

See all →
Gary GoddardAmerican film producer and director · b. 1954
T
Tony EasonAmerican football player · b. 1959
A
Andrew CancioMexican-American boxer · b. 1988
F
Frankie ErvinMusical artist · b. 1926
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Blythe’s post office has been open since 1882.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Blythe Marina Mobile EstatesEast Blythe
1cemetery inside Blythe
Palo Verde

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

Help out

Finish Blythe’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBlytheCA: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Blythe’s history

What year was Blythe founded?

The Blythe post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Blythe rank for history?

Blythe is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #446 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 Blythe?

4% of Blythe’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.8 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1980.

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 (28), the Library of Congress (2), 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.