Desert Hot Springs dates to 1941, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 18% of U.S. towns · #513 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Desert Hot Springs was built recently: 0.2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Its Register listing is the Cabot's Old Indian Pueblo Museum. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1955 on, and the census since 1960.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1944.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Desert Hot Springs’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Desert Hot Springs is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #513 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 Desert Hot Springs’ 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 Desert Hot Springs’ 0.6 sits above most of its state (72% 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 C. The pre-1940 share (±0.2 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1941.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Desert Hot Springs’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The only people residing in areas north of Palm Springs before the 20th century were the Cahuilla Indians in the village of Seven Palms. Although Cahuilla people never settled permanently in today's Desert Hot Springs, they often camped here during winter times due to the warm climate.
According to early homesteader and writer Cabot Yerxa in his newspaper columns published in The Desert Sentinel newspaper, the first homesteader in the area of the city of Desert Hot Springs was Hilda Maude Gray, who staked her claim in 1908.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Desert Hot Springs. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1955Desert Hot Springs sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Desert Hot Springs.
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.
Retake this viewThis Natural Hot Mineral Water Pool is maintained at about 95 degrees with a constant flow of approximately 125 gallons…, c. 1930
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Desert Hot Springs’ page.
In 1941, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Desert Hot Springs’ post office opened in 1944, and the census of 1960 counted 1,472 people here.
How does Desert Hot Springs rank for history?
Desert Hot Springs is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #513 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 Desert Hot Springs?
One place: the Cabot's Old Indian Pueblo Museum (listed 2012).
How old are the homes in Desert Hot Springs?
0.2% of Desert Hot Springs’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1990.
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 (12), Wikidata (1), 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) 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.
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