El Segundo’s post office opened in 1911, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 30% of U.S. towns · #330 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of El Segundo was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1964. Its Register listing is the El Segundo Woman’s Club. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1896 on, and the census since 1920.
The El Segundo post office opened in 1911, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1917. Another post office, Wiseburn (1891), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 1,563 in 19202020 census: 17,272115 years
How historic is El Segundo?
C
More historic than 30% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first El Segundo post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1917.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives El Segundo’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, El Segundo is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns, #330 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of El Segundo’s 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 El Segundo’s 0.6 sits above most of its state (72% of California towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±2.2 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1917 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 El Segundo’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Tongva (or Gabrieleños) Native American tribes inhabited the area of El Segundo and the Los Angeles coastal area when the Spanish arrived. The area was once a part of Rancho Sausal Redondo ("Round Willow Patch Ranch"). Rancho Sausal Redondo extended from Playa Del Rey in the north to Redondo Beach in the south. Originally a Mexican land grant owned by Antonio Ygnacio Avila, the rancho was later purchased by a Scottish baronet named Sir Robert Burnett in 1860. After his return to Scotland in 1873, the property was purchased by the then-manager of the rancho, Daniel Freeman. Freeman sold portions of the rancho to several persons. George H. Peck owned the 840 acres (340 ha) of land where the Chevron Refinery now sits. The city acquired its name ("the second" in Spanish) due to being the second Standard Oil refinery on the West Coast when Standard Oil of California purchased the 840 acr…
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.
The El Segundo post office opened in 1911, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1917.
How does El Segundo rank for history?
El Segundo is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns, #330 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 El Segundo?
One place: the El Segundo Woman’s Club (listed 2023).
How old are the homes in El Segundo?
8% of El Segundo’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1964.
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 (1), the Library of Congress (10), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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