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C+History
History · Escondido

Escondido’s post office opened in 1884, and 5 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 35% of U.S. towns · #278 of 847 in California. What drives it

Most of Escondido was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Below: maps from 1892 on and the census since 1890.

1884first post office
5on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
40famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Escondido began

When was Escondido founded?

1884

The Escondido post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1888. Another post office, Apex (1881), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 541 in 18902020 census: 151,038142 years

How historic is Escondido?

C+

More historic than 35% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Escondido post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1888.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Escondido’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Escondido is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns, #278 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 Escondido’s overall grade.
Founding era1884, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.6% of homes (±0.4) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register5 listings, 0.3 per 10,000 residents · typical CA town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 35%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 67%

Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Escondido ranks #282 on History.

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 Escondido’s 0.3 sits above most of its state (68% of California towns have fewer) while its 5 listings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.

Newer cities are common at Escondido’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share (±0.4 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1888 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 Escondido’s past

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

Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Escondido, and 25 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Escondido are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18936 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 1996. Watch Escondido change.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1892 to 1911, drew every building in Escondido.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Escondido’s post office has been open since 1884. Another post office, Apex, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Apex
1881–1884
Escondido
1884–today
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bellview Park Mobile Home ParkCanyon Crest Mobile Home ParkCarefree Ranch Mobile Home ParkCasa de Amigos Mobile Home ParkCasa Grande Estates Mobile Home ParkCitrus Gardens Mobile Home ParkEscondido Terrace Mobile Home ParkFriendly Hills Manor Mobile Home ParkGreen Tree Estates Mobile Home ParkGreencrest Park Mobile Home ParkHidden Vale Mobile Home ParkImperial Escondido Estates Mobile Home ParkLake Bernardo Estates Mobile Home ParkMobile Haven Mobile Home ParkMobile Park West Mobile Home ParkMoonglow Mobile Home ParkPalomar Park Mobile Home ParkPonderosa Club Mobile Home ParkRancho Escondido Mobile Home ParkSundance Mobile Home ParkSunset Terrace Mobile Home ParkThe Views Mobile Home ParkVilla Madeira Mobile Home ParkVista Verde Estates Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Rincon Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Escondido
Oak Hill Memorial Park

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Start Escondido’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Escondido’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Escondido on the map, 1893 to 1996

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

Escondido on the 1893 USGS mapEscondido on the 1901 USGS mapEscondido on the 1948 USGS mapEscondido on the 1968 USGS mapEscondido on the 1975 USGS mapEscondido on the 1996 USGS map1893Escondido 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 Escondido.

The story

How Escondido came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Escondido.

Read it all →

The Escondido area was first settled by the Luiseño, who established campsites and villages along the creek running through the area. They named the place Mixéelum Pompáwvo or "Mehel-om-pom-pavo." The Luiseno also had another village north of Mixéelum Pompáwvo called Panakare. The Kumeyaay migrated from areas near the Colorado River, settling both in San Pasqual Valley and near the San Dieguito River in the southwestern and western portions of what is now Escondido. Most of the villages and campsites today have been destroyed by development and agriculture.

ChaptersSpanish and Mexican erasAmerican era

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Escondido, 1881 to 1992

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881Post officeThe Apex post office opens
  3. 1884Post officeThe Apex post office closes
  4. 1884Post officeThe Escondido post office opens
  5. 1890Born hereGeorge Horine is born here
  6. 1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1896BuiltA.H. Beach House is built
  8. 20th century
  9. 1948Born hereLester Bangs is born here
  10. 1976Born hereJovan Kirovski is born here
  11. 1992Born hereSarah Attar is born here
By decade

Escondido, decade by decade

Today11 recent
Secretary Perdue meet CA Avocado Comm at Rancho Guejito Avocado Farm (20190715-OSEC-LSC-0909)2019Secretary Perdue meet CA Avocado Comm at Rancho Gueji…Secretary Perdue meet CA Avocado Comm at Rancho Guejito Avocado Farm (20190715-OSEC-LSC-0893)2019Secretary Perdue meet CA Avocado Comm at Rancho Gueji…Fruits and Vegetables (20190715-OSEC-LSC-1100)2019Fruits and Vegetables (20190715-OSEC-LSC-1100)Fruits and Vegetables (20190715-OSEC-LSC-1087)2019Fruits and Vegetables (20190715-OSEC-LSC-1087)Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue in CA Border Region (20190715-OSEC-LSC-0021)2019Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue in CA Border Regio…Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue in CA Border Region (20190715-OSEC-LSC-0020)2019Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue in CA Border Regio…Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue in CA Border Region (20190715-OSEC-LSC-0019)2019Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue in CA Border Regio…Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue in CA Border Region (20190715-OSEC-LSC-0018)2019Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue in CA Border Regio…Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue in CA Border Region (20190715-OSEC-LSC-0017)2019Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue in CA Border Regio…Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue in CA Border Region (20190715-OSEC-LSC-0016)2019Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue in CA Border Regio…Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue in CA Border Region (20190715-OSEC-LSC-0015)2019Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue in CA Border Regio…
Every building

Escondido, building by building, 1892–1911

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.

Escondido fire insurance map, 1892, sheet 11892Sheet 1 of 4
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the National Register

5 historic places in Escondido

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts
first listed
1992
Howell House
Howell HouseThomas HouseHotel CharlottaBandy HouseA.H. Beach House, built 1896
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian4
Queen Anne3
Second Empire1
Eastlake1
Queen Anne Cottage1
Early 20th Century Revival1
Howell HouseLate Victorian
Thomas HouseLate Victorian
Hotel CharlottaEarly 20th Century Revival
Bandy HouseLate Victorian
A.H. Beach HouseLate Victorian · Built 1896

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

People over time

Escondido, census by census

020,00040,00060,00080,000100,000120,000140,000160,0001900192019401960198020002020151,038

Grew from 541 people in 1890 to 151,038 in 2020, more than tenfold.

12 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Famous people

40 famous people were born in Escondido

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

See all →
L
Lester BangsAmerican music critic and journalist · b. 1948
Sarah AttarSaudi Arabian-American distance runner · b. 1992
Jovan KirovskiAmerican soccer player · b. 1976
George HorineAthletics competitor · b. 1890
B
Brittany AbercrombieUS volleyball player · b. 1995
J
Jon Paul SteuerAmerican actor and singer · b. 1984
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

San Diego92 historic placesASan MarcosIts storyDHarmony GroveIts storyDDel DiosIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Escondido’s history

What year was Escondido founded?

The Escondido post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1888.

How does Escondido rank for history?

Escondido is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns, #278 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 Escondido?

5 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Howell House (listed 1992, the first).

How old are the homes in Escondido?

2% of Escondido’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1981.

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 (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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.