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View of Cleveland National Forest from Mount LagunaPhoto: Hotboxers · CC BY-SA 3.0
–Not graded
History · Mount Laguna

Mount Laguna’s post office opened in 1930, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1942 on.

1930first post office
0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Hotboxers · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Mount Laguna began

When was Mount Laguna founded?

1930

The Mount Laguna post office opened in 1930, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 7496 years
Founding year: the first Mount Laguna post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Mount Laguna’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 Mount Laguna are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mount Laguna’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mount Laguna’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
The story so far

Mount Laguna, in brief

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

Mount Laguna is a small census-designated place (CDP) in San Diego County, California. It is approximately 6,000 feet (1,800 m) above sea level in a forest of Jeffrey pine, east of San Diego in the Laguna Mountains on the eastern edge of the Cleveland National Forest. The hamlet sits at the high point of a scenic drive on Sunrise Highway from Interstate 8 to Highway 79. The Mount Laguna Air Force Station was located on Mount Laguna. Mount Laguna is on the Pacific Crest Trail. It consists of a small general store, rustic lodge and cabins, local restaurant, rural post office, and campgrounds adjacent to the trail. The Laguna Mountain Recreation Area surrounds the village, and the visitor cent…

Its first post office opened in 1930. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 57 to 74 (+30%).

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

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Mount Laguna on the map, 1942 to 1997

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

Mount Laguna on the 1942 USGS mapMount Laguna on the 1960 USGS mapMount Laguna on the 1982 USGS mapMount Laguna on the 1997 USGS map1942Cuyapaipe 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 Mount Laguna.

Famous people

Famous people close to Mount Laguna

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

See all →
Jimmie JohnsonAmerican racing driver · b. 1975
David LeeAmerican volleyball player · b. 1982
J
John HopkinsAmerican motorcycle racer · b. 1983
Joe MusgroveAmerican professional baseball pitcher · b. 1992
Jason RussellAmerican director, choreographer, and activist · b. 1978
A. J. GriffinAmerican baseball player · b. 1988
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Mount Laguna’s post office has been open since 1930.

Gone or out of use
Camp Olelocale

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

Questions about Mount Laguna’s history

What year was Mount Laguna founded?

The Mount Laguna post office opened in 1930, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 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.