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CHistory
History · Calabasas

Calabasas’ post office opened in 1888, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 32% of U.S. towns · #318 of 847 in California. What drives it

Most of Calabasas was built recently: 0.8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Its Register listing is the Leonis Adobe. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1903 on, and the census since 2000.

1888first post office
1on the National Register
0.8%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Calabasas’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Calabasas began

When was Calabasas founded?

1888

The Calabasas post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1991.

First census: 20,033 in 20002020 census: 23,241138 years

How historic is Calabasas?

C

More historic than 32% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Calabasas post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1991.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Calabasas’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Calabasas is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #318 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Calabasas’ overall grade.
Founding era1888, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19400.8% of homes (±0.8) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register1 listing, 2 historic buildings, 0.9 per 10,000 residents · typical CA town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 32%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 63%

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 Calabasas’ 0.9 sits above most of its state (75% of California towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B−. The pre-1940 share (±0.8 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1991.

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 Calabasas’ past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19037 editions of the USGS map, 1903 to 1976. Watch Calabasas change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Calabasas’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewPETROLEUM PIPELINE SIGNALS FUTURE DEVEL…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Calabasas on the map, 1903 to 1976

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

Calabasas on the 1903 USGS mapCalabasas on the 1925 USGS mapCalabasas on the 1932 USGS mapCalabasas on the 1944 USGS mapCalabasas on the 1952 USGS mapCalabasas on the 1967 USGS mapCalabasas on the 1976 USGS map1903Calabasas 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 Calabasas.

The story

How Calabasas came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Calabasas.

Read it all →

The name Calabasas is an archaic Californio variant spelling of the Spanish word calabazas, meaning "winter squashes" (the area abounds in wild squashes). The Spanish botanist Jose Longinos Martinez recorded Las Calabazas as a place name in 1792.

The San Fernando Valley has been inhabited by the Chumash and Tongva for thousands of years. Spanish explorers were the first Europeans to set foot on the land. In 1770, an expedition headed by Gaspar de Portolá crossed the area while returning to Mexico from Northern California. In 1776, a northbound party of explorers led by Juan Bautista de Anza camped there on its way from Mexico.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Calabasas, 1888 to 1988

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888Post officeThe Calabasas post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1903On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1973Post officeThe Calabasas post office closes
  6. 1975In the archivePETROLEUM PIPELINE SIGNALS FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OFF MULHOLLAND DRIVE IN THE SANTA MONICA MO…
  7. 1979Born hereRob Bourdon is born here
  8. 1982Born hereGregg Guenther is born here
  9. 1984Born hereLester Cook is born here
  10. 1988Born hereSam Stein is born here
By decade

Calabasas, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1970s1 item
PETROLEUM PIPELINE SIGNALS FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OFF MULHOLLAND DRIVE IN THE SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS ON THE WESTERN EDGE...…1975PETROLEUM PIPELINE SIGNALS FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OFF MUL…
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
Date unknown2 to date
Miguel Leonis Adobe, 23537 Calabasas RoadDate?Miguel Leonis Adobe, 23537 Calabasas RoadReyes House, State Highway 101Date?Reyes House, State Highway 101
Today3 recent
Calabasas, CA, USA2015Calabasas, CA, USALos Angeles, CA, USA - panoramio (5)2008Los Angeles, CA, USA - panoramio (5)Los Angeles, CA, USA - panoramio (2)2008Los Angeles, CA, USA - panoramio (2)
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.

PETROLEUM PIPELINE SIGNALS FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OFF MULHOLLAND DRIVE IN THE SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS ON THE WESTERN EDGE...…
Retake this viewPETROLEUM PIPELINE SIGNALS FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OFF MULHOLLAND DRIVE IN THE SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS ON THE WESTERN EDGE...…, 1975

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Calabasas

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1975
Leonis Adobe
Leonis Adobe
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Monterey1
Leonis AdobeMonterey

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Calabasas, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00020002020Peak: 23,241

Between 20,033 and 23,241 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Calabasas

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

See all →
R
Rob BourdonAmerican drummer · b. 1979
L
Lester CookAmerican tennis player · b. 1984
G
Gregg GuentherAmerican football player · b. 1982
S
Sam SteinAmerican poker player · b. 1988
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Calabasas had its own post office from 1888 to 1973.

Calabasas
1888–1973
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Brents JunctionCalabasas Highlands
Gone or out of use
Calabasas SchoolschoolLiberty Schoolschool

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

TopangaIts storyC−Los Angeles284 historic placesAAgoura HillsIts storyD

Questions about Calabasas’ history

What year was Calabasas founded?

The Calabasas post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1991.

How does Calabasas rank for history?

Calabasas is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #318 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.

What is on the National Register in Calabasas?

One place: the Leonis Adobe (listed 1975).

How old are the homes in Calabasas?

0.8% of Calabasas’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1984.

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 (4), the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (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) 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.