Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 3% of U.S. towns · #817 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Borrego Springs was built recently: 0.7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1941 on, and the census since 1980.
The Borrego Springs post office opened in 1949, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Borego (1928), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
More historic than 3% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Borrego Springs is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns, #817 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
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 Borrego Springs’ 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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Borrego Springs’s history is told.
Borrego Springs’s post office has been open since 1949. Another post office, Borego, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikipedia’s history of Borrego Springs.
Anza-Borrego State Park's name is derived from Juan Bautista de Anza, who notably camped there, and "borrego", which is Spanish for "lamb", in honor of the local herds of bighorn sheep. The area east of town was the site of a vast World War II US Navy training center, the Borrego Valley Maneuver Area, with supporting camps and airstrips.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Borrego Springs. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Borrego Springs.
Between 1,405 and 3,429 people in every census since 1980.
5 censuses, 1980–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Borrego Springs’ Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Borrego Springs itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Borrego Springs post office opened in 1949, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Borrego Springs is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns, #817 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.
0.7% of Borrego Springs’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.1 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1987.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (6), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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