Most of Cayucos was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Its Register listing is the Tognini and Ghezzi Building. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1895 on, and the census since 1970.
The Cayucos post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Cayucas (1879), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 1,772 in 19702020 census: 2,505143 years
How did Cayucos get its name?
The name comes from the Spanish cayuco, a word used in California for small fishing boats and a Spanish rendering of the word kayak.
More on the name
It appears in the name of the Rancho Moro y Cayucos land grant, dated 1837 and 1842. The town was laid out and named in 1875 and appears on the Land Office map of 1879.
How historic is Cayucos?
B−
More historic than 52% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cayucos is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cayucos’ 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 Cayucos’ 8.2 sits above most of its state (91% 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 C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.9 points). 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 Cayucos’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cayucos. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1897Cayucos 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 Cayucos.
Every building
Cayucos, building by building, 1895–1913
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1895Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
The ancestors of today's Chumash and Salinan peoples inhabited the coast around Cayucos, drawing on both marine and terrestrial resources. A 2022 archaeological review of the area reports more than 8,000 years of human occupation. Spanish missionization brought diseases that caused heavy population losses. The northern San Luis Obispo coast was a zone of interaction between Northern Chumash and Salinan language communities. Archaeological and ethnographic studies have not established a single fixed boundary between them.
Indigenous settlement continued after the mission period. Historical accounts cited in the county's architectural study of the Cass Warehouse describe Native residents at Old Creek when Cass arrived in 1867.
Passages that mention Cayucos, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of San Luis Obispo County and environs, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county and environs who have been identified with the growth and development of the section from the early days to the present1917 · page 80Read the page →
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arrested and convicted of robbery, as that was their business — two Mexicans, one Swiss and a Frenchman. In 1878, Mr. Phillips retired from the bank and entered the real estate business with P. H. Dallidet, Jr. In 1878 he purchased the Morro y Cayucos rancho of 8,100 acres, laid out the town of Cayucos and sold off the tract in smaller ranches. In 1882, he sold a large amount of land for the Steele brothers. In September of that year he bought the Corbett tract of 1,900 acres for $8,000, and in ninety days sold it for $16,000. Later he sold the San Miguelito rancho ; and when the Southern
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of San Luis Obispo County and environs, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county and environs who have been identified with the growth and development of the section from the early days to the present1917 · page 1012Read the page →
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Mr. Minetti was educated in the public schools. After completing the Cayucos grammar school, he entered the employ of the Diamond Creamery, ten miles north of Cayucos, where he spent two years learning the creamery business. Then, in 1910, he entered the employ of the Central Creameries Co.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of San Luis Obispo County, California1883Read the page →
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Rancho of 8,100 acres, but the title was not then satisfactory, but at a subsequent date the titlg was perfected and the land sold on terms very satisfactory to all. The town of Cayucos was laid out in 1875 under Mr. Phillips' supervision, and he gave broad and straight streets, one of which, Ocean Avenue, is one mile in length and loo feet in width.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of San Luis Obispo County, California1883 · page 346Read the page →
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[Tribune, July 31, 1880.] Cayucos is destined in the near future to be a point of considerable importance. It is already the depot for the shipment of a very large proportion of the dairy products of this county. The dairy interests of the vicinity of Cayucos have materially increased during the past two or three years. The country between Cayucos and Cambria seems to be peculiarly adapted to that busi-
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
Cayucos, 1879 to 1995
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Cayucos post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Cayucos rank for history?
Cayucos is more historic than 52% 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.
What is on the National Register in Cayucos?
One place: the Tognini and Ghezzi Building (listed 2025).
How old are the homes in Cayucos?
8% of Cayucos’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1973.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
![[Tribune, July 31, 1880.] Cayucos is destined in the near future to be a point of considerable importance. It is already the depot for the shipment of a very large proportion of the dairy products of this county. The dairy interests of the vicinity of Cayucos have materially increased during the pa…](https://images.townratings.com/story/37077/bk-10fdc8e04f263bf0-l.jpg)
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