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History · California Pines

Half of California Pines’ homes were built after 1988

Most of California Pines was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Below: maps from 1961 on.

0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about California Pines’ past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of California Pines are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start California Pines’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

California Pines, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of California Pines yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

California Pines is a census-designated place in Modoc County, California, United States. It lies at an elevation of 4406 feet (1343 m). Its population is 473 as of the 2020 census, down from 520 from the 2010 census.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 520 to 473 (-9%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

California Pines on the map, 1961 to 1990

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

California Pines on the 1961 USGS mapCalifornia Pines on the 1990 USGS map1961Alturas 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 California Pines.

Famous people

Famous people close to California Pines

Nobody well known was born in California Pines itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

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Ernest S. BrownAmerican politician · b. 1903
S
Steven KistlerAmerican chemical engineer · b. 1900
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Robert LaxaltAmerican writer · b. 1923
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Bob MeadAmerican politician · b. 1937
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Marie WilsonSurrealist painter · b. 1922

Questions about California Pines’ history

Memory lane

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

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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). How TownRatings grades history →

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.