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DHistory
History · Lenwood

Half of Lenwood’s homes were built after 1970

More historic than 9% of U.S. towns · #705 of 847 in California. What drives it

Most of Lenwood was built recently: 0.6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. Below: maps from 1956 on and the census since 1960.

0on the National Register
0.6%homes built before 1940
Photo: Mcanmoocanu · Public domain
Quick answers

About Lenwood’s history

How historic is Lenwood?

D

More historic than 9% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
History grade

What drives Lenwood’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lenwood is more historic than 9% of U.S. towns, #705 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lenwood’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 9%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 17%

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 Lenwood’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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±1.2 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: our sources. 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 Lenwood’s past

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

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lenwood’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
The story so far

Lenwood, in brief

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

Lenwood is a census-designated place (CDP) in the Mojave Desert near Barstow, in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 3,623 at the 2020 census, up from 3,543 at the 2010 census. It is located on the Mojave River, 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Barstow.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 3,543 to 3,623 (+2%).

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

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.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Lenwood on the map, 1956 to 1993

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

Lenwood on the 1956 USGS mapLenwood on the 1971 USGS mapLenwood on the 1993 USGS map1956Barstow 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 Lenwood.

People over time

Lenwood, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0001960198020002020Peak: 3,834

Between 2,407 and 3,834 people in every census since 1960.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Lenwood

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

See all →
Places that used to be

Old corners

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Grandview

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Questions about Lenwood’s history

How does Lenwood rank for history?

Lenwood is more historic than 9% of U.S. towns, #705 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 Lenwood?

0.6% of Lenwood’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.2 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1970.

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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.