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History · Mono City

Mono City dates to 1880, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1958 on.

1880founded
0on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Mono City’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Mono City began

When was Mono City founded?

1880

Mono City dates its founding to 1880 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1889.

2020 census: 224146 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1889.

What stands out about Mono City’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mono City’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mono City’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewMono Mills, California period photo of …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Mono City, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Mono City yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Mono Mills (also Mono) is a ghost town in Mono County, California, United States. It is located 9.5 miles (15 km) east-southeast of Lee Vining, at an elevation of 7356 feet (2242 m). Mono Mills has nearly vanished. Its site is along California State Route 120, 9.1 miles (15 km) east from the junction with U.S. Route 395.

Mono City was established in 1880. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 172 to 224 (+30%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Mono City, 1880 to 1963

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880
    FoundingMono City is established
  3. 1889Post officeThe Mono Lake post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1914In the archiveMono Mills, California period photo of mill activity
  6. 1958On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1963Post officeThe Mono Lake post office closes
By decade

Mono City, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Mono Mills, California period photo of mill activity1914Mono Mills, California period photo of mill activity
1920s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today5 recent
Mono Mills ruins toward Mono Lake2009Mono Mills ruins toward Mono LakeMono Mills monument2009Mono Mills monumentMono Mills interpretive exhibit2009Mono Mills interpretive exhibitMono Mills - monitoring equipment2009Mono Mills - monitoring equipmentMono Lake - Bodie and Benton Rail Road monument2009Mono Lake - Bodie and Benton Rail Road monument
On the map

Mono City on the map, 1958 to 1994

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

Mono City on the 1958 USGS mapMono City on the 1986 USGS mapMono City on the 1994 USGS map1958Bodie 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 Mono City.

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.

Mono Mills, California period photo of mill activity
Retake this viewMono Mills, California period photo of mill activity, 1914

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Mono City’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Mono City

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

See all →
C
Carly MarguliesAmerican freestyle skier · b. 1997
J
Jim TracyAmerican ski coach
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Mono Lake, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Mono Lake
Gone or out of use
Mono Lake Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Mono City
Mono

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Mono City’s history

What year was Mono City founded?

In 1880, according to Wikidata. Mono City’s post office opened in 1889.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), 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.