More historic than 20% of U.S. towns · #460 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Mendota was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1998. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1914 on, and the census since 1950.
Founding year: the first Mendota post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1942.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Mendota’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mendota is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #460 of 847 in California. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mendota’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 Mendota’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 still be C−. The pre-1940 share (±2.8 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1942.
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 Mendota’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Beginning in 1891, Mendota thrived as a Southern Pacific Railroad storage and switching facility site. Southern Pacific management borrowed the name from Mendota, Illinois. The first post office opened in 1892. The city incorporated in 1942, and is mostly recognized for its immense production of cantaloupes. Consequently, the city of Mendota is identified as The Cantaloupe Center of the World. State water projects brought irrigation to the region, setting the stage for the tremendous growth of agriculture.
In 2007 a new Mendota Branch Library opened, part of the San Joaquin Valley Library System.
Passages that mention Mendota, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Fresno 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 present1919 · page 1941Read the page →
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the Standard Oil Company, and there he began as third fireman. He studied and worked hard, and then and there commenced to lay the foundation for his enviable knowledge in engineering. He served at different stations until, in May, 1911, he cam,e to the Mendota Pumping Station as the engineer; and excepting one year, when he was at Rio Bravo, still in the Standard's service, he has been at Mendota ever since, and now he is chief engineer.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Fresno County California with Biographical Sketches1919 · page 185Read the page →
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The San Joaquin and Kings River Canal and Irrigation Company diverts from the west bank of the San Joaquin, north of the town of Mendota. It is the oldest canal in the county, organized in February, 1871. The country tributary to it extends for seventy miles along the west bank of the stream in Fresno, Merced and Stanislaus Counties. Miller & Lux, who are the owners, have riparian rights on the river, and their own lands are largely included in the system. About 340,000 acres are irrigable from this system, though only about one-third is served, of which 40,000 are in private owner-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Fresno 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 present1919 · page 1930Read the page →
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One of the oldest settlers of Mendota, Mr. Arnaudon has seen the country grow from desert land to its present thriving condition ; from roads where the wagons sank down into the mire so that they had to be pulled out, to the present smooth highways with automobiles skimming over them ; from stock land to the present diversified ranching ; he was one of the first to pump for irrigation, to set out orchards and vineyards and use the modern methods of agriculture. He was one of the organizers of the first school at Mendota and was trustee for years. He was postmaster of Mendota for many years, then
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Fresno County California with Biographical Sketches1919 · page 759Read the page →
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continued this difficult, and more or less pioneer work, all along the Coast, and put up rigs for test wells in Monterey County, as well as in Contra Costa County, near Mt. Diablo. He put up rigs for two test wells near Herndon, and one near Lane’s Bridge, as well as a rig at Silver Creek, north of Mendota. As one result of this work for oil companies, Mr. Maxson has from time to time become interested in oil-well projects, but his investments have never brought him the returns hoped for, or that they ought to have yielded.
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
Mendota, 1892 to 1984
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.
The Mendota post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1942.
How does Mendota rank for history?
Mendota is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #460 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 Mendota?
3% of Mendota’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1998.
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 (2), Wikipedia, 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.
2006
