Most of Los Berros was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Below: maps from 1897 on and old-book passages.
The Los Berros post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Berros (1901), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 623138 years
Founding year: the first Los Berros post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
What stands out about Los Berros’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Los Berros. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1897Arroyo Grande 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 Los Berros.
The story so far
Los Berros, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Los Berros yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Los Berros (Spanish for The Watercresses) is a census-designated place in San Luis Obispo County, California. Los Berros sits at an elevation of 194 feet (59 m). The 2020 United States census reported Los Berros's population was 623.
Its first post office opened in 1888. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 641 to 623 (-3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Los Berros in 1917
Passages that mention Los Berros, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of San Luis Obispo County and environs, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county and environs who have been identified with the growth and development of the section from the early days to the present1917 · page 619Read the page →
Read the text
In 1892 he disposed of all his interests in Monterey county and came to Los Berros, San Luis Obispo County, where he purchased twelve acres of land, and with a team of ponies cleared it of the brush. This he sold, and later rented a place near the depot. Going back to Monterey county, he worked in tlie harvest fields until he had saved three hundred fifty dollars ; and with that money he came to Los Berros and bought the land he had rented. From time to time he has added to this until he now owns forty acres, which he farms to grain and beans; he also farms rented land near by, and is the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of San Luis Obispo County and environs, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county and environs who have been identified with the growth and development of the section from the early days to the present1917 · page 411Read the page →
Read the text
For the first twelve years of his residence here, he was superintendent of the Flint & Bixby ranch at Creston, and with the proceeds of his labors he made a purchase, in 1876, of six hundred acres of land near Los Berros and began for himself, devoting his land to the raising of hogs. He built a hogtight fence around his ranch, and raised grain and hay. He became owner, too, of other valuable properties in the \\'est. He had seventy-seven acres of bottom land in Los Berros and another ranch of one hundred sixty acres near by, and also owned land near Tacoma, Wash., and three lots in San
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Los Berros, 1888 to 1940
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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 the Library of Congress (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
![Vineyards in Central California [Laetitia Vineyard & Winery]](https://images.townratings.com/story/36997/828afaa73224ffdbf2de-s.jpg)
2013