Most of Lost Hills was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Below: maps from 1914 on and the census since 1990.
Founding year: the first Lost Hills post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Lost Hills’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lost Hills is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lost Hills’ 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 Lost Hills’ 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 is a Census survey estimate (±4.8 points). 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 Lost Hills’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Lost Hills post office opened in 1911, closed in 1912, re-opened in 1913 (having transferred from Cuttens), and moved in 1937. At one time, the post office was a small rented room, in Edmondson's cafe and bar. Later it was a small mobile-home size building.
Paramount Farms built a new park and housing development in Lost Hills in the early 2000s.
After the death of a pedestrian trying to cross the highway, a green pedestrian bridge was constructed spanning California Highway 46. It was funded by the Wonderful Company. Its design resembles the shape of a lizard and is able to funnel any precipitation that lands on it to the sides to allow for collection.
Passages that mention Lost Hills, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Kern County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present1914 · page 183Read the page →
Read the text
Lost Hills The founding of the town of Lost Hills followed the discovery of the oil field of that name, the story of which is told in the chapters devoted to oil. Martin & Dudley, discoverers of the field, laid out a townsite on sections 2 and 3, township 27, range 21, the winter following the strike. G. T. Nighbert erected the first building, which was occupied by a restaurant conducted by Mrs. Hamilton, the first woman in the new town. Nighbert also built the first hotel and the first store building, the latter being leased to Crow &
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Kern County California1914 · page 181Read the page →
Read the text
Lost Hills The founding of the town of Lost Hills followed the discovery of the oil field of that name, the story of which is told in the chapters devoted to oil. Martin & Dudley, discoverers of the field, laid out a townsite on sections 2 and 3, township 27, range 21, the winter following the strike. G. T. Nighbert erected the first building, which was occupied by a restaurant conducted by Mrs. Hamilton, the first woman in the new town. Nighbert also built the first hotel and the first store building, the latter being leased to Crow &
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Kern County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present1914 · page 759Read the page →
Read the text
his abilitv being soon recognized by his promotion to superintendent of the Coalinga division, and in this capacity he served with splendid success for three years, and in 1911 was transferred to the main office at Bakersfield as chief accountant under J. M. Atwell. When the property at Lost Hills was purchased by the company he was sent there to superintend the division and as such opened the work and continued the supervision until July, 1912, when he resigned to enter the mercantile business for himself in Lost Hills, where he has already built up a good trade.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Kern County California1914 · page 759Read the page →
Read the text
his ability being soon recognized by his promotion to superintendent of the Coalinga division, and in this capacity he served with splendid success for three years, and in 1911 was transferred to the main office at Bakersfield as chief accountant under J. M. Atwell. When the property at Lost Hills was purchased by the company he was sent there to superintend the division and as such opened the work and continued the supervision until July, 1912, when he resigned to enter the mercantile business for himself in Lost Hills, where he has already built up a good trade.
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
Lost Hills, 1911 to 1977
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lost Hills. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1932West of Goose Lake 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 Lost Hills.
Every building
Lost Hills, building by building, 1914
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.
1914Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
People over time
Lost Hills, census by census
Between 1,212 and 2,412 people in every census since 1990.
4 censuses, 1990–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lost Hills’ Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Places now gone
Lost Hills’s post office has been open since 1911.
Gone or out of use
Lost Hills-Kern County AirportairportReynolds Ranchlocale
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Lost Hills’ history
What year was Lost Hills founded?
The Lost Hills post office opened in 1911, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Lost Hills rank for history?
Lost Hills is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns. 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 Lost Hills?
7% of Lost Hills’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.8 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1993.
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), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
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