Most of Cabazon was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1942 on, and the census since 1990.
Founding year: the first Cabazon post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Cabazon’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cabazon is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cabazon’s overall grade.
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 Cabazon’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 D− to C−. The pre-1940 share (±1.6 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 Cabazon’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Cabazon was initially established as a settlement in the 1870s after the Southern Pacific Railroad built a railroad station there. The station was originally named Jacinto, but was renamed Cabezone after the Spanish name of a nearby Indian rancheria. The Spanish had named the latter after a chief of the Cahuilla Indians during the colonial period. He was named for his large head.
In the late 19th century, a workers' camp known as Hall's Siding, which included a hotel and dance hall, developed. It was abandoned after the railroad relocated its facilities. In 1884 a new town was laid out by the Scottish-owned Cabazon Land and Water Company, which established a fruit farm. Some lots were sold, but were later repurchased.
Passages that mention Cabazon, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Riverside County, California1912 · page 189Read the page →
Read the text
Although the railroad did not establish a depot at Banning when, in 1875 it marked the sites of San Gorgonio (Beaumont) and •Cabazon with small stations and telegraph offices, it was really the first town of any importance in the San Gorgonio Pass. When the industries of the little frontier town warranted it, the railroad built a station and installed an agent and telegraph operator, whose name was Burke. This occurred in 1878. Later, however, it became a flag station and no agent was maintained until about 1885.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Riverside County, California1912 · page 181Read the page →
Read the text
The first railroad stations in the pass were located at Cabazon, whose history begins only with the coming of the iron road, and at San Gorgonio, near the present location of Beaumont. At these two depots there were telegraph stations, and San Gorgonio being at the summit of the pass was made an important station and a small round-house was erected there. The company obtained water from a well at this point, and at Cabazon they received a supply of water from one of the canyons to the north of the pass. For some
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Cabazon, 1886 to 1942
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
The Cabazon post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Cabazon rank for history?
Cabazon is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns. 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 Cabazon?
0.0% of Cabazon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.6 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1979.
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 (5), the Library of Congress (6), Wikipedia, 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 old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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