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C−History
History · La Mesa

La Mesa dates to 1869

More historic than 21% of U.S. towns · #444 of 847 in California. What drives it

Most of La Mesa was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1971. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1903 on, and the census since 1920.

1869founded
0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
21famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From La Mesa’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How La Mesa began

When was La Mesa founded?

1869

La Mesa dates its founding to 1869 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1920.

First census: 1,004 in 19202020 census: 61,121157 years

How historic is La Mesa?

C−

More historic than 21% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1885.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives La Mesa’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, La Mesa is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #444 of 847 in California. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of La Mesa’s overall grade.
Founding era1869, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19404.1% of homes (±1.0) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%CNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical CA town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 21%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 48%

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 La Mesa’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (31% of California towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be C−. The pre-1940 share (±1.0 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1869.

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 La Mesa’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s La Mesa, and 1 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19037 editions of the USGS map, 1903 to 1994. Watch La Mesa change.Famous sons and daughtersDave Mustaine, Bill Walton and 19 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start La Mesa’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFMIB 33142 La Mesa Reservoir Reservoir: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

La Mesa’s post office has been open since 1891. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Helix
1885–1909
La Mesa
1891–today
Lemon
1892–1895
Grossmont
1910–1966
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Alta

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

On the map

La Mesa on the map, 1903 to 1994

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

La Mesa on the 1903 USGS mapLa Mesa on the 1930 USGS mapLa Mesa on the 1947 USGS mapLa Mesa on the 1953 USGS mapLa Mesa on the 1967 USGS mapLa Mesa on the 1975 USGS mapLa Mesa on the 1994 USGS map1903La Jolla 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 La Mesa.

The story

How La Mesa came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of La Mesa.

Read it all →

Before European colonization, the area that is now La Mesa was home to the Kumeyaay. The Kumeyaay were a Yuman-speaking people who practiced horticulture and hunting and gathering. The Kumeyaay organized themselves into a federation of self-governed bands, or clans. Beginning in 1769, the Kumeyaay of La Mesa and the larger San Diego County region were enslaved by Spanish colonists or later forcibly relocated to reservations.

La Mesa in Spanish means "the table", or alternately "the plateau", relating to its geography. La Mesa was part of a larger tract, Mission San Diego de Alcalá, and was used by Spanish missionaries.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

La Mesa, 1869 to 1974

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1869
    FoundingLa Mesa is established
  3. 1885Post officeThe Helix post office opens
  4. 1891Post officeThe La Mesa post office opens
  5. 1892Post officeThe Lemon post office opens
  6. 1895Post officeThe Lemon post office closes
  7. 20th century
  8. 1902In the archiveFMIB 33142 La Mesa Reservoir Reservoir
  9. 1903On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1909Post officeThe Helix post office closes
  11. 1952Born hereBill Walton is born here
  12. 1961Born hereDave Mustaine is born here
  13. 1961Born hereFrederick W. Sturckow is born here
  14. 1974Born hereFrankie Hejduk is born here
By decade

La Mesa, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
FMIB 33142 La Mesa Reservoir Reservoir1902FMIB 33142 La Mesa Reservoir Reservoir
1910s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today17 recent
Aerial - San Diego County, CA - Lake Murray, La Mesa, El Cajon 022015Aerial - San Diego County, CA - Lake Murray, La Mesa,…Skyline Wesleyan Church2014Skyline Wesleyan ChurchAmayatrolley2010Amayatrolley70thtrolley201070thtrolleyLa Mesa, CA, USA - panoramio - Mountain Mike Johans…2009La Mesa, CA, USA - panoramio - Mountain Mike Johans…La Mesa, CA, USA - panoramio - Mountain Mike Johans… (1)2009La Mesa, CA, USA - panoramio - Mountain Mike Johans… …La Mesa PD under construction2009La Mesa PD under constructionSpring Station2008Spring StationLMS Engine 112008LMS Engine 11Harris fire Mount Miguel2008Harris fire Mount MiguelGrossmont Station2008Grossmont StationNature Theater Stage2007Nature Theater StageNature Theater2007Nature TheaterOnionweed2006OnionweedHorehound2006HorehoundGroundsquirrel2006GroundsquirrelMt. San Miguel2005Mt. San Miguel
Every building

La Mesa, building by building, 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 sheet.

La Mesa fire insurance map, 1911, sheet 11911Sheet 1 of 5
BrickWoodStone

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

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.

FMIB 33142 La Mesa Reservoir Reservoir
Retake this viewFMIB 33142 La Mesa Reservoir Reservoir, 1902

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on La Mesa’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

La Mesa, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,00050,00055,00060,00065,00019201940196019802000202061,121

Grew from 1,004 people in 1920 to 61,121 in 2020, more than tenfold.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Famous people

21 famous people were born in La Mesa

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

See all →
D
Dave MustaineAmerican musician · b. 1961
Bill WaltonAmerican basketball player and sportscaster · b. 1952
Frederick W. SturckowAmerican astronaut · b. 1961
Frankie HejdukAmerican soccer player · b. 1974
Steve RoachAmerican composer and musician · b. 1955
J
Janine HansonCanadian rower · b. 1982
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Casa de Oro-Mount HelixIts storyC−San Diego92 historic placesAEl CajonIts storyC−Lemon GroveIts storyC−Spring Valley1 historic placeC−

Questions about La Mesa’s history

What year was La Mesa founded?

In 1869, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. La Mesa’s post office opened in 1885, and the census of 1920 counted 1,004 people here.

How does La Mesa rank for history?

La Mesa is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #444 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.

How old are the homes in La Mesa?

4% of La Mesa’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1971.

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 (18), 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.