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History · La Vina

La Vina’s post office opened in 1891

Most of La Vina was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Below: maps from 1922 on.

1891first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How La Vina began

When was La Vina founded?

1891

The La Vina post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 637135 years
Founding year: the first La Vina post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about La Vina’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of La Vina are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19224 editions of the USGS map, 1922 to 1981. Watch La Vina change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start La Vina’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

La Vina on the map, 1922 to 1981

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

La Vina on the 1922 USGS mapLa Vina on the 1947 USGS mapLa Vina on the 1963 USGS mapLa Vina on the 1981 USGS map1922Madera sheet · 1:31,680

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of La Vina.

The story so far

La Vina, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of La Vina yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

La Vina (Spanish: La Viña, meaning "The Vine") is a census-designated place in Madera County, California, United States. It is located 8 miles (13 km) by road south-southwest of Madera, at an elevation of 230 feet (70 m). The population was 637 at the 2020 census, up from 279 in 2010. A post office operated at La Vina from 1891 to 1895.

Its first post office opened in 1891. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 279 to 637 (+128%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

La Vina, 1891 to 1922

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1891Post officeThe La Vina post office opens
  3. 1895Post officeThe La Vina post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1922On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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Famous people

Famous people close to La Vina

Nobody well known was born in La Vina itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
William SaroyanArmenian-American novelist, playwright, and sho… · b. 1908
Sam PeckinpahAmerican film director · b. 1925
C
Chris ColferActor, singer, book author · b. 1990
A
Alysa LiuAmerican figure skater · b. 2005
Kevin FederlineAmerican rapper and entertainer · b. 1978
Mike ConnorsAmerican actor · b. 1925
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

La Vina had its own post office from 1891 to 1895.

La Vina
1891–1895
18901960today

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

Questions about La Vina’s history

What year was La Vina founded?

The La Vina post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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). How TownRatings grades history →

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.