La Puente’s post office opened in 1956, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 20% of U.S. towns · #460 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of La Puente was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1958. Its Register listing is the La Puente Valley Woman's Club. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1960.
The La Puente post office opened in 1956, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Puente (1884), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 24,723 in 19602020 census: 38,06270 years
How historic is La Puente?
C−
More historic than 20% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first La Puente post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives La Puente’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, La Puente is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #460 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 La Puente’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 La Puente’s 0.3 sits above most of its state (66% 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 (±1.7 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 La Puente’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The original inhabitants of the area now occupied by the city of La Puente were the Tongva lived in a village called Awingna, which linguists translate as "abiding place." The Awingna chief Matheo (who also held sway over several other nearby villages) was baptized at Mission San Gabriel in 1774.
In 1769, the Spanish Portolá expedition became the first Europeans to see inland portions of Alta California. On July 30, the party camped on the east side of the San Gabriel River, in today's unincorporated area of Bassett. Father Juan Crespi wrote in his diary that, the next day, they had to build a bridge (Spanish "puente") to cross the miry San Gabriel River.
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.
The La Puente post office opened in 1956, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does La Puente rank for history?
La Puente is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #460 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 La Puente?
One place: the La Puente Valley Woman's Club (listed 1999).
How old are the homes in La Puente?
4% of La Puente’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.7 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1958.
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 (6), the Library of Congress (2), 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) 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.
1852
Date?
2018
