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DHistory
History · Loma Linda

Loma Linda’s post office opened in 1901

More historic than 12% of U.S. towns · #635 of 847 in California. What drives it

Most of Loma Linda was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Below: maps from 1896 on and the census since 1970.

1901first post office
0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
29famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Loma Linda began

When was Loma Linda founded?

1901

The Loma Linda post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Mound Station (1876), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 9,797 in 19702020 census: 24,791125 years

How historic is Loma Linda?

D

More historic than 12% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Loma Linda post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Loma Linda’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Loma Linda is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #635 of 847 in California. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Loma Linda’s overall grade.
Founding era1901, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19405.0% of homes (±2.2) · 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 12%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 25%

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 Loma Linda’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 range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share (±2.2 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 Loma Linda’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 Loma Linda are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18968 editions of the USGS map, 1896 to 1980. Watch Loma Linda change.Famous sons and daughtersMatthew Modine, Richard Lawson and 27 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Loma Linda’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Loma Linda on the map, 1896 to 1980

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

Loma Linda on the 1896 USGS mapLoma Linda on the 1901 USGS mapLoma Linda on the 1938 USGS mapLoma Linda on the 1943 USGS mapLoma Linda on the 1954 USGS mapLoma Linda on the 1967 USGS mapLoma Linda on the 1973 USGS mapLoma Linda on the 1980 USGS map1896San Bernardino 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 Loma Linda.

Famous people

29 famous people were born in Loma Linda

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

See all →
Matthew ModineAmerican actor and filmmaker · b. 1959
Richard LawsonAmerican actor · b. 1947
E
Ed MosesAmerican swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, world … · b. 1980
Pete McCloskeyAmerican politician · b. 1927
Dick RutanAmerican aviator, test pilot, and recipient of … · b. 1938
Holly WeberModel · b. 1984
The story

How Loma Linda came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Loma Linda.

Read it all →

The Tongva village of Wa’aachnga, or as the Spanish referred to it as the Rancheria Guachama, was located at what is now Loma Linda. The rancheria was later occupied by the Cahuilla and Serrano after it was established as a mission outpost for Mission San Gabriel in the early 1800s.

In the late 1800s, Loma Linda began as a development of tourist halls called Mound City, as encouraged by railroad companies. Shops and cottages were built, but the project failed. During the late 1890s, a group of businessmen and physicians from Los Angeles bought the Mound City Hotel and reopened it as a convalescent home and health resort. They called it Loma Linda, meaning 'beautiful hill' in Spanish.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Loma Linda, 1876 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1876Post officeThe Mound Station post office opens
  3. 1877Post officeThe Mound Station post office closes
  4. 1896On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1901Post officeThe Loma Linda post office opens
  7. 1927Born herePete McCloskey is born here
  8. 1947Born hereRichard Lawson is born here
  9. 1959Born hereMatthew Modine is born here
  10. 1980Born hereEd Moses is born here
By decade

Loma Linda, decade by decade

Today11 recent
Overlooking Loma Linda (3)2021Overlooking Loma Linda (3)Overlooking Loma Linda (2)2021Overlooking Loma Linda (2)Overlooking Loma Linda (1)2021Overlooking Loma Linda (1)Loma Linda, Loma Linda University and Medical center2018Loma Linda, Loma Linda University and Medical centerMoon Waxing Gibbous2017Moon Waxing GibbousMoon Waxing Crescent Phase2017Moon Waxing Crescent PhaseFull Moon 09 05 20172017Full Moon 09 05 2017Egret and Goose, Vet Hospital 1-12-142014Egret and Goose, Vet Hospital 1-12-14StaterBrosMarketLomaLinda2008StaterBrosMarketLomaLindaBarn or Shed, Bryn Mawr, CA, January 20082008Barn or Shed, Bryn Mawr, CA, January 20081958 Seamount Family20061958 Seamount Family
People over time

Loma Linda, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00019802000202024,791

Grew from 9,797 people in 1970 to 24,791 in 2020.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Loma Linda’s post office has been open since 1901. Another post office, Mound Station, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Mound Station
1876–1877
Loma Linda
1901–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bryn MawrMound City

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). 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.

Redlands12 historic placesB+San Bernardino5 historic placesBColton1 historic placeB

Questions about Loma Linda’s history

What year was Loma Linda founded?

The Loma Linda post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Loma Linda rank for history?

Loma Linda is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #635 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 Loma Linda?

5% of Loma Linda’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1984.

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 (11), 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.