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DHistory
History · Morongo Valley

Morongo Valley’s post office opened in 1947

More historic than 6% of U.S. towns · #761 of 847 in California. What drives it

Most of Morongo Valley was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1955 on, and the census since 1980.

1947first post office
0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Morongo Valley’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Morongo Valley began

When was Morongo Valley founded?

1947

The Morongo Valley post office opened in 1947, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,137 in 19802020 census: 3,51479 years

How historic is Morongo Valley?

D

More historic than 6% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Morongo Valley post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Morongo Valley’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Morongo Valley is more historic than 6% of U.S. towns, #761 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Morongo Valley’s overall grade.
Founding era1947, from the first post office: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19402.0% of homes (±2.2) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%C−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical CA town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 6%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 10%

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 Morongo 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 D. The pre-1940 share (±2.2 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 Morongo Valley’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Morongo Valley’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo3 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewMorongo Valley (L) and Yucca Valley Cal…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Morongo Valley, in brief

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

Morongo Valley is a census-designated place (CDP) on State Route 62 in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 3,514 at the 2020 census, down from 3,552 at the 2010 census. The town is bordered by Yucca Valley, California.

Its first post office opened in 1947. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 3,552 in 2010, 3,514 in 2020.

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

Timeline

Morongo Valley, 1944 to 1987

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1944Born hereGene Parsons is born here
  3. 1947Post officeThe Morongo Valley post office opens
  4. 1955On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1987Born hereLeah Turner is born here
By decade

Morongo Valley, decade by decade

Date unknown3 to date
Morongo Valley (L) and Yucca Valley California Seen from the AirDate?Morongo Valley (L) and Yucca Valley California Seen f…Morongo Valley California Seen from AirDate?Morongo Valley California Seen from AirMorongoHouseDate?MorongoHouse
Today6 recent
Shoe Fence near Rice, CA2011Shoe Fence near Rice, CAMorongo Reservation View2010Morongo Reservation ViewMorongo Basin2008Morongo BasinMorongo Valley2007Morongo ValleyMorongo Valley from San Jacinto Peak2006Morongo Valley from San Jacinto Peak3 mar morongo20063 mar morongo
On the map

Morongo Valley on the map, 1955 to 1997

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

Morongo Valley on the 1955 USGS mapMorongo Valley on the 1972 USGS mapMorongo Valley on the 1997 USGS map1955Morongo 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 Morongo 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.

Morongo Valley (L) and Yucca Valley California Seen from the Air
Retake this viewMorongo Valley (L) and Yucca Valley California Seen from the Air

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Morongo Valley, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,500198020002020Peak: 3,552

Between 1,137 and 3,552 people in every census since 1980.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Morongo Valley

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

See all →
Gene ParsonsAmerican musician · b. 1944
Leah TurnerAmerican singer · b. 1987
Places that used to be

Old corners

Morongo Valley’s post office has been open since 1947.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Little Morongo HeightsPalm Wells

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

Questions about Morongo Valley’s history

What year was Morongo Valley founded?

The Morongo Valley post office opened in 1947, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Morongo Valley rank for history?

Morongo Valley is more historic than 6% of U.S. towns, #761 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 Morongo Valley?

2% of Morongo Valley’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1973.

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 (9), 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) 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.