Hawthorne dates to 1905, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 23% of U.S. towns · #411 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Hawthorne was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. Its Register listing is the Federal Building. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1896 on, and the census since 1930.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1897.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Hawthorne’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hawthorne is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #411 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 Hawthorne’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 Hawthorne’s 0.1 sits near the middle of its state (64% 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 D to C+. The pre-1940 share (±1.1 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1905.
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 Hawthorne’s 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 Hawthorne. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1896Redondo 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 Hawthorne.
Every building
Hawthorne, building by building, 1912–1923
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.
1912Sheet 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.
Famous people
33 famous people were born in Hawthorne
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
The Tongva tribe of Native Americans first lived in the area.
Hawthorne was once part of the Rancho Sausal Redondo (Round Willow-grove Ranch) of the 22,458-acre (91 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day Los Angeles County, California given in 1837 to Antonio Ygnacio Ávila by Juan Alvarado the Mexican Governments Governor of Alta California. Rancho Sausal Redondo covered the area that now includes Playa Del Rey, El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Lawndale, Hermosa Beach, Inglewood, Hawthorne, and Redondo Beach.
Passages that mention Hawthorne, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Masterpieces of American literature1891 · page 90Read the page →
Read the text
Hawthorne was born July 4, 1804, and died May 19, 1864. The student of Hawthorne will find in G. P. Lathrop's A Study of Hawthorne, and Henry James, Jr.'s Hawthorne.
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
Hawthorne, 1850 to 1991
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
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.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Hawthorne, census by census
Grew from 6,596 people in 1930 to 88,083 in 2020, more than tenfold.
10 censuses, 1930–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Hawthorne’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone
Hawthorne’s post office has been open since 1908. Another post office, Burnett, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Burnett
1897–1929
Hawthorne
1908–today
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CypaveDelta
Gone or out of use
Belle View Country ClublocaleKellys AirportairportKew SchoolschoolLos Angeles Metropolitan Medical CenterhospitalRobert F Kennedy Medical Centerhospital
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Finish Hawthorne’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
In 1905, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Hawthorne’s post office opened in 1897, and the census of 1930 counted 6,596 people here.
How does Hawthorne rank for history?
Hawthorne is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #411 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 Hawthorne?
One place: the Federal Building (listed 2015).
How old are the homes in Hawthorne?
5% of Hawthorne’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.1 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1970.
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 (10), Wikidata (1), 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, 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.
1880
1880
1880
Date?
2021
2017