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History · Desert Shores

Half of Desert Shores’ homes were built after 1983

Most of Desert Shores was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: maps from 1956 on and the census since 2000.

0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Squelle · CC BY-SA 3.0

What stands out about Desert Shores’ 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 Desert Shores are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Desert Shores’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Desert Shores’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

Desert Shores, in brief

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

Desert Shores (formerly Fish Springs) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Imperial County, California, US. It is part of the El Centro Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, Desert Shores had a population of 1,128.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,104 to 1,128 (+2%).

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

By decade

Desert Shores, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Stuck and Forgotten2021Stuck and ForgottenGatway to a dead world2021Gatway to a dead worldSalton Sea Beach (Jan 2014) 072014Salton Sea Beach (Jan 2014) 07Desert Shores, CA, 6-29-20082008Desert Shores, CA, 6-29-2008
On the map

Desert Shores on the map, 1956 to 1974

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

Desert Shores on the 1956 USGS mapDesert Shores on the 1974 USGS map1956Oasis 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 Shores.

People over time

Desert Shores, census by census

02004006008001,0001,20020002020Peak: 1,128

Between 792 and 1,128 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Desert Shores

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

See all →
V
Vanessa MarcilAmerican actress · b. 1968
Oscar LoyaMexican Broadway musical theatre performer · b. 1979
Stan Van GundyAmerican basketball coach · b. 1959
D
Debi DerryberryAmerican voice actress · b. 1967
Jack BladesAmerican musician · b. 1954
D
David WachsAmerican actor · b. 1980

Questions about Desert Shores’ history

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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 Wikimedia Commons (4), 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.