The story
Read it all →How Murrieta came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Murrieta.
The Luiseño people founded the village of Avaa7ax or 'Avaa'ax where Murrieta stands today.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
DHistory
History · Murrieta
Murrieta’s post office opened in 1924
More historic than 5% of U.S. towns · #766 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Murrieta was built recently: 0.5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2000. Below: maps from 1942 on and the census since 1990.
1924first post office
0on the National Register
0.5%homes built before 1940
10famous people
Quick answers
How Murrieta began
When was Murrieta founded?
1924
The Murrieta post office opened in 1924, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1991. Two smaller post offices, Murrietta (1885) and Linda Rosa (1888), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 1,628 in 19902020 census: 110,949102 years
How historic is Murrieta?
D
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 5% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Murrieta post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1991.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Murrieta’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Murrieta is more historic than 5% of U.S. towns, #766 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Murrieta’s overall grade.
Founding era1924, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19400.5% of homes (±0.5) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%DNational 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 5%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 10%
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Murrieta ranks #380 on History.
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 Murrieta’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.
Newer cities are common at Murrieta’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±0.5 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1991.
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 Murrieta’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 Murrieta are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Murrieta, and 5 old place names are still on the map.Famous sons and daughtersRickie Fowler, Tyler Wade and 8 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Murrieta’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Murrieta’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Murrieta’s post office has been open since 1924. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Murrietta
Linda Rosa
Murrieta
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Antelope HillsLinda RoseMission Hills Mobile Home ParkMurrieta Hot SpringsWarm Springs Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Antelope SchoolschoolBear Creek AirportairportSky Park Landing FieldairportThompson Airstripairport
1cemetery inside Murrieta
Laurel
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Famous people
See all →10 famous people were born in Murrieta
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Timeline
Murrieta, 1885 to 2000
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1885Post officeThe Murrietta post office opens
- 1888Post officeThe Linda Rosa post office opens
- 1890Post officeThe Linda Rosa post office closes
- 20th century
- 1924Post officeThe Murrietta post office closes
- 1924Post officeThe Murrieta post office opens
- 1942
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1988
Born hereRickie Fowler is born here - 1991
Born herePatrick Wisdom is born here - 1994
Born hereTyler Wade is born here - 21st century
- 2000
Born hereKhalil Shakir is born here
By decade
Murrieta, decade by decade
2024
2022On the map
Murrieta on the map, 1942 to 1973
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Murrieta. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1942Murrieta sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Murrieta.
People over time
Murrieta, census by census
Grew from 1,628 people in 1990 to 110,949 in 2020, more than tenfold.
4 censuses, 1990–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Murrieta’s Wikipedia page.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Murrieta’s history
What year was Murrieta founded?
The Murrieta post office opened in 1924, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1991.
How does Murrieta rank for history?
Murrieta is more historic than 5% of U.S. towns, #766 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 Murrieta?
0.5% of Murrieta’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 2000.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (2), 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) 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.