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C−History
History · Pico Rivera

Pico Rivera’s post office opened in 1958, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 22% of U.S. towns · #434 of 847 in California. What drives it

Most of Pico Rivera was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1957. Its Register listing is the Pico, Pio, Casa. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1896 on, and the census since 1960.

1958first post office
1on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Pico Rivera’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Pico Rivera began

When was Pico Rivera founded?

1958

The Pico Rivera post office opened in 1958, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Rivera (1888) and Pico (1925), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 49,150 in 19602020 census: 62,08868 years

How historic is Pico Rivera?

C−

More historic than 22% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Pico Rivera’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pico Rivera is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #434 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pico Rivera’s overall grade.
Founding era1958, from the first post office: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19405.4% of homes (±1.3) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register1 listing, 0.2 per 10,000 residents · typical CA town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 22%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 49%

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 Pico Rivera’s 0.2 sits near the middle of its state (65% of California towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. The pre-1940 share (±1.3 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 Pico Rivera’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18968 editions of the USGS map, 1896 to 1981. Watch Pico Rivera change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Pico Rivera, and 4 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Pico Rivera’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pico Rivera’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pico Rivera’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 viewCésar Chávez, Paul Schrade and other st…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Pico Rivera on the map, 1896 to 1981

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

Pico Rivera on the 1896 USGS mapPico Rivera on the 1902 USGS mapPico Rivera on the 1923 USGS mapPico Rivera on the 1949 USGS mapPico Rivera on the 1951 USGS mapPico Rivera on the 1965 USGS mapPico Rivera on the 1972 USGS mapPico Rivera on the 1981 USGS map1896Downey 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 Pico Rivera.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Pico Rivera’s post office has been open since 1958. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Rivera
1888–1958
Pico
1925–1958
Pico Rivera
1958–today
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BartoloDowney RoadMcCampbellWhittier Junction

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

The story

How Pico Rivera came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pico Rivera.

Read it all →

Situated on a rich alluvial plain between the Rio Hondo and the San Gabriel River, Pico Rivera was originally two unincorporated agricultural communities: Pico (named for Pío Pico, the last Mexican governor of California and located in the northern portion of what is now Pico Rivera) and Rivera (the Spanish word for "riverbank", located in the southern portion). By the end of the 19th century, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway had been built through Rivera, while the Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad (later the Union Pacific) had been built through Pico. In 1902, they were joined by the Pacific Electric's Whittier Line through Rivera. The Los Nietos Townsite Company was established by J. Fletcher Isbell and William T. Bone in 1887, selling land that had once been part of Pio Pico's Rancho Paso de Bartolo. One of their first sales was to Joseph Burke, whose family cultivat…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Pico Rivera, 1888 to 2003

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888Post officeThe Rivera post office opens
  3. 1896On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1925Post officeThe Pico post office opens
  6. 1951Born hereDennis Morrison is born here
  7. 1958Post officeThe Rivera post office closes
  8. 1958Post officeThe Pico post office closes
  9. 1958Post officeThe Pico Rivera post office opens
  10. 1967In the archiveCésar Chávez, Paul Schrade and other strikers picketing Ford Motor Co. plant at
  11. 1972Born hereJennifer Syme is born here
  12. 1997Born hereZahid Valencia is born here
  13. 21st century
  14. 2003Born hereJonathan Perez is born here
By decade

Pico Rivera, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1960s2 items
César Chávez, Paul Schrade and other strikers picketing Ford Motor Co. plant at1967César Chávez, Paul Schrade and other strikers picketi…Paul Schrade, 19671967Paul Schrade, 1967
1970s–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
Today6 recent
Rivera Library2024Rivera LibraryPicoRiveraCityHall2014PicoRiveraCityHallElRanchoHS2014ElRanchoHSMarch 2010 Pico Rivera earthquake intensity USGS2010March 2010 Pico Rivera earthquake intensity USGSLibrary2009LibraryCAMap-doton-Pico Rivera2006CAMap-doton-Pico Rivera
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.

César Chávez, Paul Schrade and other strikers picketing Ford Motor Co. plant at
Retake this viewCésar Chávez, Paul Schrade and other strikers picketing Ford Motor Co. plant at, 1967

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Pico Rivera

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Pico, Pio, Casa
Pico, Pio, Casa
Buildings
Pico, Pio, CasaBuilding

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

People over time

Pico Rivera, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,00050,00055,00060,00065,00070,0001960198020002020Peak: 63,428

Between 49,150 and 63,428 people in every census since 1960.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Pico Rivera

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

See all →
Jennifer SymeAmerican actress · b. 1972
Z
Zahid ValenciaAmerican wrestler · b. 1997
J
Jonathan PerezMexican-American soccer player · b. 2003
D
Dennis MorrisonAmerican football player · b. 1951
J
Jim ArellanesAmerican football player · b. 1974
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Montebello1 historic placeCIndustry4 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWhittier6 historic placesBSanta Fe Springs2 historic placesC+West Whittier-Los NietosIts storyC−Downey2 historic placesC+

Questions about Pico Rivera’s history

What year was Pico Rivera founded?

The Pico Rivera post office opened in 1958, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Pico Rivera rank for history?

Pico Rivera is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #434 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 Pico Rivera?

One place: the Pico, Pio, Casa (listed 1973).

How old are the homes in Pico Rivera?

5% of Pico Rivera’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.3 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1957.

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 (8), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.