More historic than 12% of U.S. towns · #637 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Lucerne Valley was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1947 on.
Founding year: the first Lucerne Valley post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Lucerne Valley’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lucerne Valley is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #637 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 Lucerne Valley’s 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 Lucerne Valley’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 is a Census survey estimate (±3.9 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 Lucerne Valley’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Lucerne Valley yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Lucerne Valley is a census-designated place (CDP) and valley landform in the southern Mojave Desert, in western San Bernardino County, California. As of the 2020 census, Lucerne Valley had a population of 5,331.
Its first post office opened in 1912. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 5,811 to 5,331 (-8%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Lucerne Valley, 1912 to 1947
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lucerne Valley. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1947Lucerne Valley 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 Lucerne Valley.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewCalifornia - Golden State through High Head Reservoir, 1917
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Lucerne Valley’s page.
Lucerne Valley’s post office has been open since 1912.
Gone or out of use
Midway SchoolschoolRabbit Ranch AirportairportTexas Rock Quarrymine
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Lucerne Valley’s history
What year was Lucerne Valley founded?
The Lucerne Valley post office opened in 1912, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Lucerne Valley rank for history?
Lucerne Valley is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #637 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 Lucerne Valley?
5% of Lucerne Valley’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1973.
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 (10), 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.
2020
2017
2017
2014
2014
2014
2014
2013
2010
