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B+History
History · Monrovia

Monrovia’s post office opened in 1886, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 65% of U.S. towns · #76 of 847 in California. What drives it

5 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Upton Sinclair House, a National Historic Landmark. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1890.

1886first post office
5on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
17famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Monrovia’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Monrovia began

When was Monrovia founded?

1886

The Monrovia post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 907 in 18902020 census: 37,931140 years

How historic is Monrovia?

B+

More historic than 65% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Monrovia’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Monrovia is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #76 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Monrovia’s overall grade.
Founding era1886, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194016.7% of homes (±2.1) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register5 listings, 7 historic buildings, 1.9 per 10,000 residents · typical CA town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 65%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 91%

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 Monrovia’s 1.9 sits above most of its state (80% of California towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.1 points) is firm at this size. 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 Monrovia’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 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A National Historic Landmark5 places on the National Register, including Upton Sinclair House, a National Historic Landmark.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1888 to 1913, drew every building in Monrovia.Famous sons and daughtersVelma Dunn, Kenny Baker and 15 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Monrovia’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPanoramic view of the Sierra Madre Ranc…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

5 historic places in Monrovia

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
5
National Historic Landmark
1
Upton Sinclair House
historic buildings protected
7
each building in a district counts
first listed
1971
Upton Sinclair House
Oaks, TheAztec Hotel, built 1924Brossart, John F. and Julia HouseLuther and Adah Blair HouseUpton Sinclair House★
Buildings★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Neo-Mediterranean1
Stick1
Eastlake1
Mayan1
★ Landmark
Upton Sinclair HouseNeo-Mediterranean
Oaks, TheStick
Aztec HotelMayan · Built 1924
All 5 listings
Brossart, John F. and Julia HouseBuilding · listed 2024Luther and Adah Blair HouseBuilding · listed 2024

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

Every building

Monrovia, building by building, 1888–1913

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 year, then a sheet.

Monrovia fire insurance map, 1888, sheet 21888Sheet 2 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Monrovia came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Monrovia.

Read it all →

The San Gabriel Valley was first inhabited by the Tongva whose traditional lands extended throughout the area of modern-day greater Los Angeles. While Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo first discovered California for Spain in 1542, Spanish colonization did not begin until 1769 with the Portolá expedition. In 1771, the entire valley, including present-day Monrovia, came under the domain of the newly established Mission San Gabriel, initially located along the San Gabriel River near the southern edge of the valley. The mission utilized the lower portion of the valley for raising cattle and farming while the uplands, including Monrovia, remained untouched.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Monrovia in 1889

Passages that mention Monrovia, cut from the printed page as they were published.

cidnous fruit trees, comprising a large variety of the most approved fruits grown in his section. In 1887 Mr. Little commenced the practice of his profession in Monrovia, and has been identified with the remarkable building up and growth of that city. Upon the incorporation of the city of Monrovia …
An illustrated history of Los Angeles County, California. Containing a history of Los Angeles County from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospective future ... and biographical mention of many of it1889Read the page →
Read the text

cidnous fruit trees, comprising a large variety of the most approved fruits grown in his section. In 1887 Mr. Little commenced the practice of his profession in Monrovia, and has been identified with the remarkable building up and growth of that city. Upon the incorporation of the city of Monrovia in December, 1887, he was appointed city attorney, a position which

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Monrovia, two miles east of Arcadia, was founded by W. N. Monroe, and is a place of wonderful growth. It contains Methodist Episcopal and Baptist churches, a school-house that cost $15,000, two lines of street-cars, large hotels under excellent management, two banks with large capital, large busine…
An illustrated history of Los Angeles County, California1889 · page 339Read the page →
Read the text

Monrovia, two miles east of Arcadia, was founded by W. N. Monroe, and is a place of wonderful growth. It contains Methodist Episcopal and Baptist churches, a school-house that cost $15,000, two lines of street-cars, large hotels under excellent management, two banks with large capital, large business blocks, in which merchants are doing a thriving business, and

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

Monrovia, 1886 to 1987

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1886Post officeThe Monrovia post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1902In the archivePanoramic view of the Sierra Madre Ranch (fruit ranch) in the city of Monrovia, taken fro…
  5. 1912Born hereKenny Baker is born here
  6. 1917In the archiveCalifornia - Dark Hole; Big Dalton Dam through Davis
  7. 1918Born hereVelma Dunn is born here
  8. 1924BuiltAztec Hotel is built
  9. 1925In the archiveThe Monrovia Clinic, Monrovia, Calif. (California & Western Med., 1925)
  10. 1925On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1969Born hereCorie Blount is born here
  12. 1971LandmarkUpton Sinclair House named a National Historic Landmark
  13. 1987Born hereAshley Nick is born here
By decade

Monrovia, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1920s4 items
Panoramic view of the Sierra Madre Ranch (fruit ranch) in the city of Monrovia, taken from Sierra Madre Heights, 1902 (…1902Panoramic view of the Sierra Madre Ranch (fruit ranch…California - Dark Hole; Big Dalton Dam through Davis1917California - Dark Hole; Big Dalton Dam through DavisCalifornia - Dark Hole; Big Dalton Dam through Davis1917California - Dark Hole; Big Dalton Dam through DavisThe Monrovia Clinic, Monrovia, Calif. (California & Western Med., 1925)1925The Monrovia Clinic, Monrovia, Calif. (California & W…
1930s–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
Today7 recent
MonroviaSunrise2OldUS66-Sep20112011MonroviaSunrise2OldUS66-Sep2011MonroviaCalifornia-SanGabrielMtnView12011MonroviaCalifornia-SanGabrielMtnView1MonroviaCalifornia-OldUS66-SanGabrielMtnView2011MonroviaCalifornia-OldUS66-SanGabrielMtnViewAutumn in2011Autumn inMonrovia CA San Gabriel Mountains i2102007Monrovia CA San Gabriel Mountains i2101963 Plymouth Valiant20071963 Plymouth ValiantMonrovia Geyser 1 - Flickr - RBerteig2001Monrovia Geyser 1 - Flickr - RBerteig
On the map

Monrovia on the map, 1925 to 1933

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

Monrovia on the 1925 USGS mapMonrovia on the 1933 USGS map1925Azusa sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Monrovia.

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.

Panoramic view of the Sierra Madre Ranch (fruit ranch) in the city of Monrovia, taken from Sierra Madre Heights, 1902 (…
Retake this viewPanoramic view of the Sierra Madre Ranch (fruit ranch) in the city of Monrovia, taken from Sierra Madre Heights, 1902 (…, 1902

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Monrovia, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,000190019201940196019802000202037,931

Grew from 907 people in 1890 to 37,931 in 2020, more than tenfold.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Famous people

17 famous people were born in Monrovia

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
V
Velma DunnDiver · b. 1918
Kenny BakerAmerican singer and actor · b. 1912
Ashley NickAmerican soccer player · b. 1987
C
Corie BlountAmerican basketball player · b. 1969
J
Juma SultanAmerican musician · b. 1942
Katie JohnsonMexican-American soccer player · b. 1994
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Monrovia’s post office has been open since 1886.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Cloverleaf Canyon
Gone or out of use
Canyon Tuberculosis PreventatoriumhospitalMonrovia Airportairport
1cemetery inside Monrovia
Live Oak Memorial Park

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.

Arcadia1 historic placeC+Mayflower VillageIts storyDBradburyIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSouth Monrovia IslandIts storyDDuarte1 historic placeC+IrwindaleIts storyC

Questions about Monrovia’s history

What year was Monrovia founded?

The Monrovia post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Monrovia rank for history?

Monrovia is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #76 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 Monrovia?

5 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Upton Sinclair House (a National Historic Landmark since 1971). 7 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Monrovia?

17% of Monrovia’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.1 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1962.

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 (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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.