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C+History
History · Mentone

Mentone’s post office opened in 1891, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 43% of U.S. towns · #195 of 847 in California. What drives it

Most of Mentone was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Below: maps from 1899 on and the census since 1990.

1891first post office
1on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Mentone began

When was Mentone founded?

1891

The Mentone post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Craftonville (1892), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 5,675 in 19902020 census: 9,557135 years

How historic is Mentone?

C+

More historic than 43% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Mentone’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mentone is more historic than 43% of U.S. towns, #195 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mentone’s overall grade.
Founding era1891, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19406.6% of homes (±3.4) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register1 listing, 1.1 per 10,000 residents · typical CA town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 43%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 77%

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 Mentone’s 1.1 sits above most of its state (76% of California towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.4 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 Mentone’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 Mentone are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18997 editions of the USGS map, 1899 to 1996. Watch Mentone change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mentone’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mentone’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

Mentone on the map, 1899 to 1996

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

Mentone on the 1899 USGS mapMentone on the 1901 USGS mapMentone on the 1954 USGS mapMentone on the 1967 USGS mapMentone on the 1975 USGS mapMentone on the 1980 USGS mapMentone on the 1996 USGS map1899Redlands 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 Mentone.

The story

How Mentone came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mentone.

Read it all →

William H. Drew and Nathaniel Kellog "N.K." Fairbanks formed Mentone Corporation in 1886. They purchased 3,000 acres east of Lugonia colony and north of Crafton colony on the south bank of the Santa Ana River. Within the year, The Santa Fe Railroad also established a stop in 1886. William P. McIntosh surveyed the land for the Mentone corporation and bought most of the land himself. He named the city streets for earth gemstones north–south, and after beach resorts east–west.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Mentone, 1891 to 1920

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1891Post officeThe Mentone post office opens
  3. 1892Post officeThe Craftonville post office opens
  4. 1899On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1920Post officeThe Craftonville post office closes
By decade

Mentone, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Greenspot Farms, Carriage 6-24-12a2012Greenspot Farms, Carriage 6-24-12aGreenspot Farms, Carriage 6-24-122012Greenspot Farms, Carriage 6-24-12Mt. San Bernardino, 12.5 miles east2011Mt. San Bernardino, 12.5 miles eastOranges, Dates and Mountains, Mentone, CA 1-082008Oranges, Dates and Mountains, Mentone, CA 1-08Oranges and Palms, Redlands, CA 1-20082008Oranges and Palms, Redlands, CA 1-2008Oranges and Palms, Redlands, CA2008Oranges and Palms, Redlands, CA
Every building

Mentone, building by building, 1928

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.

Mentone fire insurance map, 1928, sheet 11928Sheet 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.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Mentone

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1977
Mill Creek Zanja
Mill Creek Zanja
Districts
Mill Creek ZanjaDistrict

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Mentone, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00020002020Peak: 9,557

Between 5,675 and 9,557 people in every census since 1990.

4 censuses, 1990–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Mentone

Nobody well known was born in Mentone itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Gene HackmanAmerican actor and novelist · b. 1930
Amy LeeAmerican singer, pianist and songwriter · b. 1981
S
Shailene WoodleyAmerican actress · b. 1991
Travis BarkerAmerican drummer · b. 1975
Reggie MillerAmerican basketball player · b. 1965
LaKeith StanfieldAmerican actor and rapper · b. 1991
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Mentone’s post office has been open since 1891. Another post office, Craftonville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Mentone
1891–today
Craftonville
1892–1920
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Crafton

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+YucaipaIts storyD

Questions about Mentone’s history

What year was Mentone founded?

The Mentone post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Mentone rank for history?

Mentone is more historic than 43% of U.S. towns, #195 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.

What is on the National Register in Mentone?

One place: the Mill Creek Zanja (listed 1977).

How old are the homes in Mentone?

7% of Mentone’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.4 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1981.

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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.