Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Carmel-by-the-Sea

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
B+History
History · Carmel-by-the-Sea

Carmel-by-the-Sea was first counted by the census in 1920, and 39% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 69% of U.S. towns · #58 of 847 in California. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Carmel Mission, a National Historic Landmark. Below: 17 old photos and papers, maps from 1913 on, and the census since 1920.

1920first census
4on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
17old photos & papers
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Carmel-by-the-Sea’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Carmel-by-the-Sea began

When was Carmel-by-the-Sea founded?

1920

Carmel-by-the-Sea first appears in the census in 1920.

First census: 638 in 19202020 census: 3,220106 years

How historic is Carmel-by-the-Sea?

B+

More historic than 69% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Carmel-by-the-Sea’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Carmel-by-the-Sea is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns, #58 of 847 in California. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Carmel-by-the-Sea’s overall grade.
Founding era1920, from the first census: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194038.6% of homes (±5.8) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register4 listings, 12.7 per 10,000 residents · typical CA town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 69%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 93%

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 Carmel-by-the-Sea’s 12.7 sits above most of its state (93% of California towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.8 points).

Founding year: the first census (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 Carmel-by-the-Sea’s past

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

A town in old photos17 old photos, postcards and papers, 1839–1906.Boom and bustPeaked at 4,707 in 1980; 3,220 people lived here in 2020.A National Historic Landmark4 places on the National Register, including Carmel Mission, a National Historic Landmark.On the map since 19135 editions of the USGS map, 1913 to 1997. Watch Carmel-by-the-Sea change.
★ What stands out · By decade

Carmel-by-the-Sea, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1830s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1830s1 item
View of Carmel, c. 1839c. 1839View of Carmel, c. 1839
1890s–1900s16 items
View of Carmel City1890View of Carmel CityBeach and seacoast in the Carmel, California area LOC agc.7a175191906Beach and seacoast in the Carmel, California area LOC…Beach and seacoast in the Carmel, California area LOC agc.7a175241906Beach and seacoast in the Carmel, California area LOC…Beach and seacoast in the Carmel, California area LOC agc.7a175251906Beach and seacoast in the Carmel, California area LOC…Beach and seacoast in the Carmel, California area LOC agc.7a175381906Beach and seacoast in the Carmel, California area LOC…Beach and seacoast in the Carmel, California area LOC agc.7a175551906Beach and seacoast in the Carmel, California area LOC…Beach and seacoast in the Carmel, California area LOC agc.7a175561906Beach and seacoast in the Carmel, California area LOC…Beach in the Carmel, California area LOC agc.7a175201906Beach in the Carmel, California area LOC agc.7a17520Beach in the Carmel, California area LOC agc.7a175211906Beach in the Carmel, California area LOC agc.7a17521Beach in the Carmel, California area LOC agc.7a175291906Beach in the Carmel, California area LOC agc.7a17529Beach in the Carmel, California area LOC agc.7a177721906Beach in the Carmel, California area LOC agc.7a17772Carmel Bay, California LOC agc.7a176751906Carmel Bay, California LOC agc.7a17675Carmel Highlands, California LOC agc.7a179051906Carmel Highlands, California LOC agc.7a17905Carmel highlands, California LOC agc.7a179071906Carmel highlands, California LOC agc.7a17907Cypress in the Carmel, California area LOC agc.7a178211906Cypress in the Carmel, California area LOC agc.7a17821Cypress trees and seacoast in the Carmel, California area LOC agc.7a179091906Cypress trees and seacoast in the Carmel, California …
1910s–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

Carmel-by-the-Sea, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 4,707

Peaked at 4,707 in 1980; 3,220 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Carmel-by-the-Sea’s Wikipedia page.

On the National Register

4 historic places in Carmel-by-the-Sea

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmark
1
Carmel Mission
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1966
Carmel Mission
Outlands in the Eighty AcresSunset Center, built 1965Mrs. Clinton Walker House, built 1948Carmel Mission, built 1770★
Buildings★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Mission Style1
Tudor Revival1
English Cottage1
Late Gothic Revival1
★ Landmark
Carmel MissionMission Style · Built 1770
Outlands in the Eighty AcresTudor Revival
Sunset CenterLate Gothic Revival · Built 1965
Mrs. Clinton Walker HouseBuilt 1948

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

The story

How Carmel-by-the-Sea came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Carmel-by-the-Sea.

Read it all →

The first Europeans to see Carmel were mariners led by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo in 1542, who sailed up the California coast without landing. Sixty years later Spanish explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno landed at the Carmel River in 1602. It is thought that he named the river running through the valley Rio Carmelo in honor of the three Carmelite friars serving as chaplains for the voyage.

ChaptersSpanish and Mexican erasEarly American eraModern era

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Carmel-by-the-Sea, 1770 to 1980

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1770BuiltCarmel Mission is built
  3. 19th century
  4. 1839In the archiveView of Carmel, c. 1839
  5. 1890In the archiveView of Carmel City
  6. 20th century
  7. 1906In the archiveBeach and seacoast in the Carmel, California area LOC agc.7a17519
  8. 1908Born hereDavid R. Goddard is born here
  9. 1913On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1945Born hereCarrie Lucas is born here
  11. 1948BuiltMrs. Clinton Walker House is built
  12. 1955Born hereCountry Dick Montana is born here
  13. 1957Born hereWilliam Morris is born here
  14. 1960LandmarkCarmel Mission named a National Historic Landmark
  15. 1965BuiltSunset Center is built
  16. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 4,707
On the map

Carmel-by-the-Sea on the map, 1913 to 1997

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

Carmel-by-the-Sea on the 1913 USGS mapCarmel-by-the-Sea on the 1947 USGS mapCarmel-by-the-Sea on the 1968 USGS mapCarmel-by-the-Sea on the 1983 USGS mapCarmel-by-the-Sea on the 1997 USGS map1913Monterey 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 Carmel-by-the-Sea.

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.

View of Carmel, c. 1839
Retake this viewView of Carmel, c. 1839, c. 1839

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

6 famous people were born in Carmel-by-the-Sea

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

See all →
C
Carrie LucasAmerican singer · b. 1945
W
William MorrisAmerican artist · b. 1957
C
Country Dick MontanaAmerican musician · b. 1955
D
David R. GoddardAmerican plant physiologist · b. 1908
E
Elissa EpelPsychiatry researcher (ORCID 0000-0002-9334-472… · b. 1968
J
Jamie IredellAmerican writer · b. 1976
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Gone or out of use
Carmel Community ChurchchurchSunset Grammar Schoolschool

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Carmel-by-the-Sea’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewView of Carmel, c. 1839: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Del Monte Forest1 historic placeB

Questions about Carmel-by-the-Sea’s history

What year was Carmel-by-the-Sea founded?

The Carmel-by-the-Sea post office opened in 1920, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Carmel-by-the-Sea rank for history?

Carmel-by-the-Sea is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns, #58 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 Carmel-by-the-Sea?

4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Carmel Mission (a National Historic Landmark since 1960).

How old are the homes in Carmel-by-the-Sea?

39% of Carmel-by-the-Sea’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.8 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1950.

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 (17), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.